Friendships are meant to be enjoyed because they are a gift that comes naturally to everyone. However, it may sour when you ignore the signs of a toxic friend. A good friend brings joy and a sense of fulfillment into our lives. They play a major role in determining how far we will go. Friends are there to give us the emotional, social, mental, physical, and even financial support we need. They are always available to cheer us up whenever we are down.
This world is full of toxic people. Who is a toxic friend? Toxic friends are negative, harmful, and poisonous to our mental health and general well-being. How can we identify them? There are several signs of a toxic friend, such as the fact that they are always prone to gossip and never say sorry for their wrongdoings. Toxic friends collect more than they give and want to be the center of everything.
Furthermore, toxic friends always have ulterior motives. They are never supportive of your success and achievements. It is easier to deal with these types of friends, as this article will expose. You will also read in detail about several types of toxic friends, the signs of a toxic friend, and how to manage them.
7 Types Of Toxic Friends
There are several types of toxic friends, but we will consider the common types, which are:
Types Of Toxic Friends – #1. The Users
Users are friends who only take from you and never give you anything in return. They only come to you whenever they are in need, and after meeting their needs, you don’t get to see them again until another need arises. They are just friends with you because of the benefits they are getting from you.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #2. The Controller
They are bossy friends, and they boss you around without considering your schedule. The controller would cut you short when speaking and consistently tell you what to do and how to do things.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #3. The Influencers (bad)
They would always force you into committing bad things or making bad decisions, for instance, cheating in an examination, going to nightclubs, smoking, drinking, etc.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #4. The Jokesters
They are never serious about issues, so they never take your words seriously and are full of criticism. Jokesters could make fun of your name and call you some disgusting nickname.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #5. The Two-Face
These types of friends can be very dangerous and gossip about anything. The two-faced would say good things about you in your presence but say negative things in your absence, and they would tell your secrets to others and pretend they were not the ones who told someone else.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #6. The Flake
The flakes are friends you should never rely on because they always disappoint at the last minute and always make excuses for it.
Types Of Toxic Friends – #7. The Competitors
These are the friends who always oppose you instead of being supportive. For instance, if you are running for the position of president in your department, instead of them supporting you, they will be your opponent.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend
How will you know that your friends are toxic? Here are 6 signs of a toxic friend and how to deal with them.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #1. Hardly Apologize
Have you been in a situation where you were expecting an apology from your friend, but you ended up apologizing to them? Do you have friends that can’t say “sorry” for offending you? Then it’s a red flag and a sign of a toxic friend.
For instance, you kept food in your pot with the hope that you would eat it when you return, only to discover on arrival an empty pot of food, and instead of apologizing to you, she never did; instead, she insisted that she has the right to your pot.
I understand that familiarity can make us cross certain boundaries, but we should acknowledge wrongdoings once it’s spelled out by the other party. It’s a bit insensitive to ignore a friend you’ve hurt, no matter how familiar you are with each other.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #2. They Nurse Ulterior Motives
Everyone has a motive for being friends with you. Some friends are there for your money, fame, protection, or to take photographs with you.
However, along the line, you love some friends because they make you happy and help you determine how bright your future is; unknown to you, they are doing all this just because of what they will get from you. Some friends help you not from a pure heart but because of what they will gain from you. These and more are signs of a toxic friend.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #3. They’re Liars
You can never entrust any of your valuables to someone that is a liar. No friendship will be enjoyed and respected when lying is involved.
While it may seem very obvious, it might be hard to believe that the person you love so much has been lying about everything to you. However, don’t hesitate to end that friendship because it is a sign of a toxic friend and can hurt your mental life by making it hard for you to believe or trust someone again even though they are telling the truth.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #4. They Always Advise You Negatively
One of the clear signs of a toxic friend is that they advise you to do things against your faith and assure you that it has no side effects. For instance, your friend keeps on pressuring you to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, stay out late at night, go to night parties, and so on.
Keeping such friends might be detrimental to your physical, mental, and social being, which are signs of a toxic friendship.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #5. Jealous And Never Celebrate You
Friends that can drain you physically, mentally, and emotionally are not worth having. One major sign of a toxic friend is that they never add to your success. Rather, they envy you and get jealous of your achievements.
Friends are meant to cheer, send goodwill messages, celebrate, and be happy for your success. Instead of being jealous, real friends will aspire to be like you or even more than you. Good friends will pray for your rising, not falling.
Signs Of A Toxic Friend – #6. Don’t Show Up When You Need Them Most
We all pass through seasons when we need friends’ shoulders to lean on — the loss of dear ones, health challenges, financial issues, academics, setbacks, and so on.
However, when your friends are never there to give you their shoulders to lean on or some emotional support without any reasonable excuses, it’s a sign of a bad friend. It shows that they are never interested in your warfare.
How To Deal With Toxic Friends
- Please don’t stoop to their level.
- Focus on the good in them.
- Know when the relationship is beyond repair.
- Downgrade it to casual friendship
- End the relationship.
- Make new and healthy friends.
Wrapping Up On Signs Of A Toxic Friend
It is important to note that if you are in any kind of relationship or friendship and your peace of mind is taken away, or the relationship is affecting your physical, mental, emotional, and social lives, that’s the sign of a toxic friendship. That friendship is not worth having. Hopefully, these signs of toxic a friend listed here helped you understand the types of friends you keep and how to deal with the bad ones.
