Did you know that 84% of women say they’ve had a toxic boyfriend at some point in their lives? These types of toxic friends can get you into a lot of trouble. Every day we meet many people with different personality traits. Some of these people even make a lasting impression. You may also choose to stay in touch with them, and eventually, these people turn into your friends, and then into your close friends. It may appear that you are making this decision based on your common interests, convenience, or current need. But unfortunately, sometimes it turns into a toxic relationship, leaving you exhausted.
Apparently, even one toxic person can make you:
Blame your opinions
distort your capabilities
And destroy your dreams.
Science also says that such negative people can even kill you. For this reason, you should try to avoid such types of toxic people by all means.
“People inspire you, or drain you, choose them wisely.” – Hans F. Hansen.
What does a toxic person look like?
We all must have come across toxic people in school, college, or the workforce, or even our best friends can be toxic at times. That’s the thing about toxic people. They are camouflaged everywhere.
But how do you identify a toxic person?
Every time you meet a toxic person, they leave you emotionally drained, frustrated, and negative. It’s all about themselves and it makes you feel worthless being around them.
A study also found that our social circle can influence our eating habits. So let’s say you have a toxic friend who is obese. It can influence you to eat more and eventually lead to obesity.
So choose your friends wisely!
Toxic personality traits
The only thing toxic people do is spread negativity, unnecessary problems, conflict, and stress. They eventually become a source of stress in our lives. Toxic people resist logic as well as empathy.
Sometimes it may happen that some innocent people end up causing trouble. Such people are not aware of the negative impact they have on those around them.
On the other hand, some toxic people derive satisfaction by creating chaos in the lives of others. This trait is caused by sheer jealousy.
According to psychologists, these are some of the traits of toxic people:
They never apologize.
Toxic people make you stand up for yourself.
They are manipulative.
They are judgmental.
Toxic people gossip behind your back.
They don’t support you.
It’s always about them, not you. They never show you.
They lie to you.
Narcissism or gaslighting is personality toxic.
They are jealous.
They don’t show empathy.
So, these are few signs of toxic people that you should always look out for and thus stay away from.
It is imperative that you save yourself from these toxic people, because it is very much in your hands.
10 Types of toxic people you should avoid in your life to keep the peace
- Manipulators
One of the most common toxic personality traits is manipulators. We’ve all had this type of person in our lives who manipulate us.
Manipulators have a different kind of personality, pulling time and energy out of your life behind the facade of friendship.
Dealing with them can be complicated because they treat you like a friend. They know what you like, what makes you happy, and what you think is funny, but the difference is that they use this information as part of a secret plan.
Manipulators always want something from you, because for them, it’s all about taking with little to no giving, which is a sure sign that toxic people annoy us all the time.
They will do anything to win you over. Try to avoid such toxic people. Otherwise, you will end up spending a lot of energy confronting them.
- The detractors
It’s okay to have people guide you by offering you productive criticism. But some like to criticize and bring you down.
No matter how good you are at your task or how much effort you put into a particular activity, these types of toxic people will find some way to tell you that it’s not okay.
They are very negative and pessimistic, and they have toxic personality traits. Nothing is ever good enough, and no one will ever succeed at anything, according to them.
Detractors are the type of toxic people who will constantly judge you.
Would you like to be around someone like that? I am sure your answer would be no. So, avoid such toxic people, and your brain will thank you for it.
These toxic people become a hindrance if you are trying to build a certain type of personality.
- Gossip
“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
Gossip is what brings our society together these days. It’s okay to gossip once in a while. After all, we are all human. However, if you are with someone who is constantly gossiping, you need to think about it more carefully. Not only are you wasting time with this nonsense, you are also spoiling your thoughts.
Researchers explain what your habits say about your personality
If your friend can gossip about others in front of you, do you guarantee that he won’t gossip about you in front of others? They will do this because gossiping becomes part of their personality and a sure sign of how toxic people are.
- Self-absorption
These types of toxic people believe in “me,” not “we.”
Self-absorbed people lack empathy and cannot see other people’s perspectives. They always do things in their best interest. Everything they do, think or say always surrounds them. It is really necessary to always put oneself first, but self-absorbed people go above and beyond by suppressing others and never allow anyone else to do so.
Simply put, these types of toxic people are:
selfish,
selfishness,
self centered,
hateful.
One of the reasons someone may cultivate selfish behavior is due to their parenting style.
Parents of obnoxious children fulfill every request. When these children fuss, cry, or demand something, their parents pay attention to them and get what they want right away. These emotional and behavioral attachments remain with them even after they become adults.
Their emotions, feelings, actions, comfort, needs, etc. should always be prioritized.
Research conducted over more than a decade has also shown that loneliness is an important factor that increases selfishness, leading to this type of toxic personality.
Try to avoid these toxic people and learn to stand up for your own opinions.
How do we deal with toxic people in the family?
- Envious
In other words, envy means jealousy. We’ve all had such types of personalities in our lives.
Envious people are jealous of your accomplishments, your happiness, your success, and the love you receive.
They measure their wealth against the worlds when they should derive their satisfaction from within.
Hence, envious people will do anything to make sure that no one is better than them. Spending a lot of time with jealous people is dangerous because they teach you to underestimate your endeavors.
One toxic personality trait that should never be ignored is envy. Keep an eye on such types of toxic people to avoid inconveniences in your life.
- The needy
One of the most common signs of toxic people is that they are constantly needy.
We all have needs. Sometimes, we ourselves cannot fulfill these needs and so we end up asking someone for help.
But some people make this a habit. They are constantly asking for one thing or the other.
It starts with something small and may end with something big like financial assistance, materials, etc. It would be helpful to distance yourself from usually needy people for your own good.
- My mood
Another personality trait that is more toxic is the moody type of people.
These are people who have no control over their emotions at all and one of the signs of toxic people.
At any time, they will attack you and show their feelings, assuming that you are the one causing their displeasure. They may quickly end up playing the victim.
It’s hard to get moody people out of your life because their lack of control over their emotions makes you feel bad for them.
But don’t go off. Stand up for yourself and learn to say no.
This type of person can harm your ability to focus, and it is a good idea to avoid this type of toxic person in your life.
- Dementors – They are the most toxic people you should avoid
I’m sure all of you are familiar with the famous “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling. We also know about her own set of struggled days when she came across these kinds of toxic people in her life.
She recognized the signs of toxic people and moved away from them to focus on her writing. One of the personality types was the Dementors.
According to the series, Dementors are evil creatures that suck people’s souls out of their bodies, leaving them as mere shells for humans.
When a Dementor enters the room, it is dark; People catch a cold and instantly remember their worst memories.
Guess where J.K. Rowling got the idea for toxic people like Dementors?
c. Rowling said she developed the concept of dementia based on extremely negative people — the kind of people who can walk into a room and instantly suck the life out of it.
We too are surrounded by such people, and it is best to avoid them.
- Liars
These types of people can be hard to spot, unless they are caught in the act. As humans, we make mistakes and sometimes lie. In a TED Talk titled “The Future of Lying,” Jeff Hancock shares research showing that we all lie once or twice every day.
Some common lies that non-toxic people often share are:
Sorry, I got stuck in traffic.
My phone was dead.
I have other plans this weekend.
As long as the intent behind the lie is not so deceptive, it can be overlooked.
However, you have to be careful with prolific liars or big liars. Many liars leave no room for trust in a relationship, and they can tell 19.1 lies for every big lie they’ve shared in the past. Research has also found that Facebook and the online dating space are the places people lie the most.
It’s so annoying to be with someone who is constantly lying on your face. You may also develop a mistrust of others because of these people. So, it is better to stay away from these kind of toxic people
- Zombies
Slackers are the ones who are lazy and do not complete any tasks assigned to them. In return, they somehow make you do their jobs.
Signs that you are in a toxic relationship
Being around someone who habitually slacks off and doesn’t feel like doing anything can be very demotivating and disheartening, no matter what you want to do.
Zombies make you do their job and end up getting the credit for it themselves. And this is really one of the signs of a toxic person that you should avoid.
- The insecure type of toxic person
Insecurity and lack of trust is at the root of fading relationships these days. These types of toxic people have no self-confidence and drag you back.
They do not believe in their own growth and instead focus on destroying others.
For example, a toxic co-worker may not necessarily improve their skills. But pick your daily activities and drop you in front of the other team members.
Closing Thoughts on Toxic People
Choose your inner circle and friends wisely because not only will they motivate you to achieve your dreams, but they can also make or break you. If you liked this article, share it with your real friends and subscribe to get more great content.
Do you know other signs of a toxic person? Have you been in a toxic or unhealthy relationship? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
There are several important signs of toxic people that you should consider to know if someone is toxic or not.
Here are some red flags:
These are the people who always play the blame game.
Constant criticism and forced attention seeking is a common trait of toxic people.
They are dismissive
If they’re gossiping behind your back, they’re toxic.
They bring you down in front of others and make you feel less than yourself.
Why are people toxic?
Most people who suffer from toxicity act negatively, mainly because of their beliefs and insecurities. They try to hide their problems and thus fail to look for solutions.
So when they see others moving forward, toxic people are out to hurt them emotionally and mentally with their toxic behaviors.
Insecurity can be the basis of many toxic personality traits.
How to deal with toxic people?
The first thing to remember when dealing with toxic or difficult people is that they will never change. They do what they do for many reasons. Different toxic people have different types of personalities. And you can’t go preaching to everyone.
Instead of focusing on changing their behavior or attitude towards you, try training your mind to deal with stress more effectively.
even better? Try to avoid them by setting healthy limits or boundaries.
