Toxic People: Six Frenemies to Avoid

Got any toxic people in your life? I’ve had a few come and go through the years. 

Beware of the people in your life who are just plain not good for you! Sometimes they’re referred to as “frenemies.” These are people who seem like friends but aren’t. They sap the life out of you, you dread seeing them, they’re unsupportive, and they’re difficult to be around. 

Bottom line → they spread unhappiness and ultimately poison things they come in touch with. Ewwww.

Not sure if you’ve got a toxic person in your life? Here’s a litmus test to help you decide. Do any of these titles ring a bell? 

• The Big Talker: This person specializes in monopolizing conversations and, surprise, their favorite subject just happens to be them! Conversations with them rarely involve you or what’s going on in your life. They think the world revolves around them and if you’d give them a crown they’d happily wear it. “Narcissist” may be a title they’d wear well. 
• The Balloon Popper: This person specializes in bursting your “happy balloon.” They’ll readily find the bad in any good thing you or others do . Any good thing that happens to you moves the attention away from them and they don’t like it. I call these kinds of people “Dream Killers”; you can find out more about them in a recent blog I wrote. Loyalty is foreign to them. The glass is perpetually half empty in their world. They’d rather suck on a lemon then to make lemonade. 
• The Pinnochio: This person will often lie compulsively, not just to you and others, but to themselves. They’ll even convince themselves that their lies are reality. They will often be exposed by telling one lie over another and tripping themselves up. 
• The Drama Queen/King: This person should be an Academy Award winner. Something magnanimous is always happening in their life and when one thing is over another replaces it. He/she could be a star in their own personal soap opera! Drama queens/kings have a skewed sense of proportion. Tiny things are viewed as ultimate disaster. 
• The Green-Eyed Monster: This person specializes in jealousy. They find it hard to be happy for anyone. They love to judge others and spread gossip. Criticizing comes easy for them. They often point out the wrong things you’ve done or didn’t do. In their mind, they don’t believe that there’s room at the top for everyone. Think highschool-the “he said/she said” drama factory. Drama and pranks are what they love! They have a Peter Pan philosophy of “I don’t ever want to grow up” way of handling things. 
• The Sorry-Not-Sorry Person: Saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t come easy to this person. Things are always someone else’s fault. They often claim “victim-woe is me-status”. If they do apologize it’s usually disingenuous.
• The Sly One: This is the person who specializes in “passive-aggressive” behavior. Their tendency is to engage in indirect expression of hostility through acts such as sly and subtle insults or the “silent treatment”. They’ll say things like “that dress would have really looked good on you about 10 years ago.” They’ve got a cynical, sullen, or even hostile attitude. They complain about feeling underappreciated or cheated. If you could hear background music when they’re around it would be a sad tune on the violin.

So tell me, do you have some frenemies that need to go? Seriously. Do you? Choose your friends wisely. Just as the environment has its toxins, the world includes people who consistently do toxic things. Be picky about who you spend time with. Opt for supportive and loving people in your life and don’t settle on anyone!

If you’d like to discover the character traits of a true friend, you can read more about them here. Life is way too short to spend time with people who don’t help you be your best self and allow you to do the same thing for them. 

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” Oscar Wilde