Invading your personal space, pressuring you to do things you're not comfortable with, or failing to respect your requests for space are all behaviors of bad friends. They might also downplay your sentiments and emotions, or they might not be there for you when you need them.
A toxic friendship may involve gossiping, pressuring you into things you do not want to do, or putting down your successes. Dealing with toxic friends can severely harm your physical and mental health. You may feel bad about yourself, or you might stress over how they may react.
4 Differences Between Good Friends and Toxic Friends
39 related questions found
How do you cut off a friend nicely?
Talk about the fun times or the things you've learned from them. Then, explain why you've come to the difficult decision to end the friendship. Lombardo suggests using “I” statements to take ownership of how you feel because “you” statements can lead the other person to become defensive.
In most cases, both people seek to be loving and generous with their time and resources. Toxic friends, however, often present as selfish and challenging. They may struggle with healthy communication and become aggressive, passive-aggressive, or dismissive when they don't get what they want.
Friendships are a source of emotional support and boost our health and well-being. Some signs that it may be time to end a friendship include gossip, manipulation, or disrespecting boundaries. Most friendships drift apart naturally.
Healthy friendships offer support and affirmation. If your friend doesn't respect your feelings, it's an unhealthy relationship. Feeling anxious or negative in your friendship is a sign that it may be best to end it. Your friend is dishonest or holds back information.
Ms Needleman says that the impacts of a toxic relationship should not be underestimated. They can affect your sense of self and identity, damage your self-esteem, and even lead to feelings of depression and/or anxiety.
You realize a particular friend leaves you feeling worse after spending time together. You find reasons to avoid spending time with a friend or wanting to cancel plans once they've been made. Your friend only seems to like you or want to spend time with you when they need something from you.
They can not only drain you physically and emotionally but toxic friendships can also affect how you behave and think. Hence, it is important to identify toxic friendships and eventually cut off relations with toxic friends to lead a healthy life, both physically and mentally.
You don't owe them anything and you have the right to remove yourself from the situation. To stop the friendship, delete or block them on social media, or anywhere else they might be able to contact you.
Now is not the time to tell your friend that her constant complaining is dragging you down. Instead, talk about your own needs, says Degges-White. “You might say, 'I really need to look after myself, and I feel like I can't be a good friend for you right now.
