Here are some signs that can help you identify toxic individuals:
- Constant Negativity: They often have a negative outlook on life and tend to focus on the bad aspects of situations. They might complain frequently and drain your energy with their constant pessimism.
- Manipulative Behaviour: They might use guilt-tripping, gaslighting, or emotional blackmail to control and exploit those around them and get what they want.
- Lack of Empathy: Toxic people often lack genuine empathy and may dismiss or belittle your feelings and experiences. They also seem to have a knack of ignoring your feelings by replacing them with their own emotions to bring attention back to themselves.
- Constant Drama: They might create or escalate situations to gain attention or control, making your interactions emotionally exhausting.
- Boundary Violation: They might not respect your need for space, privacy, or autonomy and push you to do or say things you aren’t comfortable to do.
- Jealousy and Competition: They can often try to compete with you in various aspects of life. They may undermine your achievements or attempt to outdo you to boost their own ego.
- Frequent Criticism: Toxic people tend to be highly critical, constantly finding faults and pointing out your mistakes. Their criticism can be demeaning and damaging to your self-esteem.
- One-Sided Relationships: Toxic individuals often make relationships feel one-sided, where they take more than they give. They might only reach out when they need something and be absent when you need support.
- Refusal to Take Responsibility: Toxic people often avoid taking responsibility for their actions and may shift blame onto others. They might downplay their role in conflicts or avoid admitting when they’re wrong.
- Isolation Tactics: Toxic individuals might try to isolate you from friends and family, making you dependent on them for emotional support and validation. They may therefore pick arguments with people around you or try to make you feel guilty for seeing these people.
It’s important to note that people can behave like this from time to time without necessarily being toxic-we all have our bad days.
However, if you consistently observe several of these signs in someone and it’s causing you distress, walk away. If they are over 25 years old, it is extremely unlikely that they will be able to change because brain plasticity gets harder as we pass this age.
