5 Clear Signs That Someone is Toxic (and Should Be Avoided)
Walking red flags are everywhere
Freeing yourself from toxic individuals makes you feel like a new person.
You need to first be able to recognize who these toxic individuals are, though. That means no more making excuses for inexcusable behaviour (we’re all guilty of this).
Would you like to live a happier life?
It’s time to take the necessary steps and to remove these negative forces of energy from your life.
If you notice any of the 5 signs below, you’re likely dealing with someone toxic.
Take notes.
1. They can’t maintain long-term friendships
You should be suspicious when you see someone who has no long-term friends.
If you’ve known them for a while, you’ve probably noticed that they appear to be best friends with different people at different times, and then out of nowhere, they stop talking to them.
When you ask this person what happened, it’s never their fault.
Every time something happens, everyone is terrible to them, and they are angels.
While there is a slim chance that this person is indeed very unlucky, what is much more likely is that this person is toxic.
Proceed at your own risk.
2. Seeing others win upsets them
Those who are optimistic or generally happy people tend to get excited or inspired when they see others winning.
They see someone playing the sport they love excellently and smile.
They see an amazing artist release incredible music, and they appreciate the art and raw talent.
They see their friend who worked on their business tirelessly for years finally reap the rewards, and they are genuinely proud.
Those who are toxic see those things and think, “That should have been me”. Not realizing that these people earned exactly what they got.
If someone gets upset by others’ wins, avoid them.
Because when you win, they will not only be upset, but they will try to take you down.
3. No respect for boundaries
We all have boundaries. Some don’t need to be stated, while others do.
Problems arise when you state your boundaries, and someone does not respect them (red flag!).
Let’s say you are afraid of heights, yet this person pretends to push you near a ledge.
Or you told them something confidentially, and they went and told others exactly what you shared with them.
It always starts lightly to see what they can get away with. And then, they will make fun of you or put you on a guilt trip for having a boundary.
Their goal is to continue to push you to gain control.
Cut this person off for the sake of your sanity.
4. They lack empathy
Those who lack empathy typically display extreme narcissism.
They’ll be so consumed by their own needs, insecurities or self-image that they simply cannot connect with your emotions or perspectives.
Luckily, these individuals reveal themselves over time.
They will tend to downplay your achievements to make themselves look better. They will also dismiss your feelings and not take responsibility for their actions.
Due to their narcissism, they may start off by talking about the great things they do, and you may believe them and become drawn in.
They may even be inspirational.
But eventually, their actions will be obvious.
It’s best to cut these toxic people because they will slowly bring you down.
5. Everything is overdramatized
The simplest way to put this is that they turn everything into a big deal.
Here are 2 examples I saw recently:
Someone got pissed off that their food at a restaurant took 5 minutes too long, despite the apologies from the server.
A friend was sick and couldn’t make it to plans. The toxic one assumed they were lying, must be with other friends, and went on a rant.
I’m sure the moment you read those, a few examples popped into your head, too.
The toxic ones will stress you out and negatively affect your happiness because you will slowly start to think like them. You’ll catch yourself losing it in traffic because an old lady needed to cross the road.
Life has ups and downs. If you get caught in extremes, everything becomes extreme.
To wrap it all up
Life is crazy enough as it is. Don’t let toxic individuals jump into your life and negatively impact your happiness.
These signs do appear on a spectrum. Remember, everyone has their bad days.
Use your best judgment when cutting someone out of your life.
Sometimes it may be best to start by just slowing down and spending less time together, in case you are wrong.
Just don’t get caught making excuses forever.
Thanks for reading