A toxic friendship can have a serious impact on your mental and emotional wellbeing. If you’re in a toxic friendship, you may feel drained, anxious, depressed, or worthless. Sometimes you may start to question your own self-worth and judgement.
It’s important to remember that you deserve to be treated with respect and kindness in your friendships. If you’re in a toxic friendship and it’s making you feel bad about yourself, it’s important to set boundaries or consider ending the friendship altogether.
Here are some telltale signs of a toxic friend:
- You feel drained or exhausted after spending time with them.
- Your boundaries or privacy is ignored.
- You find yourself always walking on eggshells around them.
- They are jealous or try to ‘one-up’ you.
- They don’t support your goals or dreams or criticise them.
- You somehow feel obligated to spend time with them or do things for them.
- They don’t show up for you when you need them.
- Your friend makes you feel guilty when you try to set boundaries.
- you feel anxious when you are about to meet up with them
or, Try asking yourself Some questions, like:
- Do you have that one friend who criticises you, your house, your husband or boyfriend, or the food you make when you invite them over?
- Do you find them being judgy, controlling or untrustworthy?
- Have you spent time with a friend and then have left feeling manipulated or dismissed?
- Do you have a friend that is in constant need of your help and support, but doesn’t reciprocate?
- Do you feel that you are being gossiped about or backstabbed?
If you are answering ‘yes’ then you may be in a toxic friendship. And it’s important to know that you deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. You could try setting boundaries or reduce the time you spend with them. But remember it is totally okay to end your friendship altogether. You are most certainly not alone and many people have experienced this at some point in their lives. The most important thing is to take care of yourself and to surround yourself with positive and supportive people.
Now that you have identified some toxic behaviours, you can start to develop strategies for dealing with them.
Let’s look at ways to deal with a toxic FRIENDSHIP.
It may just be time to end it – If the friendship is having a negative impact on your well-being, take steps to protect yourself. Especially if your friend is unwilling to change their behaviour or not willing to listen to what you have to say.
Of course you could try and salvage your friendship and reset some boundaries. This means that you will have to talk to your friend about their behaviour and tell them how it is affecting you. Clearly tell them what behaviours you will and will not tolerate. Keep on enforcing your boundaries but if your friend continues to engage in toxic behaviours … you know what to do. End it.
This can be a difficult decision. And if you are struggling to end a toxic friendship, it may be helpful to talk to a trusted friend, family member, or therapist. They can offer support and guidance as you go through this process.
Here are some tips for ending a toxic friendship:
- Be direct and honest with your friend about why you are ending the friendship.
- Be prepared for your friend to react negatively.
- If you feel unsafe, you can end the friendship over the phone or in writing.
- Block your friend on social media and your phone.
- Create a support system of friends and family members who can help you through this time.
Here are some tips for dealing with a toxic friend:
- Talk to them about their behaviour. Let them know how their behaviour is affecting you and why it’s unacceptable. Be specific and give examples.
- Be clear about what you are and are not willing to tolerate in the friendship. If they cross a boundary, let them know immediately and follow through with the consequences you have set.
- Take care of yourself. Make sure you are spending time with other supportive friends and family members. Do things that you enjoy and that make you feel good about yourself.
- Communicate your needs. Let your friend know how their behaviour is affecting you and what you need from them.
- Find support from other friends or family members. Talking to someone you trust can help you to feel better and to make the best decisions for yourself.
- Be assertive. Don’t be afraid to say no to your friend or to stand up to them.
- Take breaks from the friendship. If you need some space from your friend, that’s okay.
- Don’t take their behaviour personally. It’s important to remember that their behaviour is a reflection of them, not you.
![toxic friendship](https://thegoodlifechapter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Toxic-Friend-1024x683.jpeg)
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