4 Ways To Recognize Toxic Friendship

The connections you forge with your friends are some of the most beautiful relationships you will ever have.

A good friendship can enrich your life, add color to even the dullest days, and inspire you to be a better person.

One of the best things about friendships is how rich they become over time, every new experience or inside joke adds to the wealth of memories you already share.

True friends will rejoice with you when you are at your happiest, and walk with you through your darkest moments.

In fact, they become so present in every aspect of your life that it becomes difficult to remember who you even were before you met them.

If you are already involved in a friendship with someone who may be toxic, it’s necessary to figure out what kind of steps you are going to take to keep yourself safe from the emotional toll the friendship may have on you!

And if you’re exiting a toxic friendship, the best thing you can do for yourself is to have some positive goals and mindsets to help you move into a healthier, happier future!

# Question 1 Do you come away from time spent with this ‘friend’ feeling more exhausted than you were before you met up with them?

This kind of exhaustion isn’t the physical exhaustion you might feel after a great night out, but an emotional heaviness that leaves you feeling ‘down’ or stressed. This emotionally drained feeling is a very important signal that you may be involved in a friendship that isn’t healthy for you!

# Question 2 Does your ‘friend’ listen to you? Good friendships are all about sharing experiences!

Does she tune in when you are talking about things that really matter to you? *or does she throw in a couple of “uh-huhs” and then turn the conversation back to herself?* If your answer to this question is “no” , then you know that you aren’t in a friendship that is healthy. Even if a good friend doesn’t understand why you care about something as much as you do, they will care about it just because they know it means so much to you!

# Question 3 Is your ‘friend’ constantly in crisis, and constantly the victim?

Everyone has rough times, and there are certainly times that a friend’s life will be messy – these are the times when you really need strong friendships, and offering a shoulder to cry on and an understanding ear is the best thing you can do!

However, if you notice that your friend is constantly coming to you with emotional tales about how they have been wronged, and this pattern lasts for an extended period of time, you might want to think critically about how realistic their explanation of their problems is! Toxic friends will often manipulate your emotions because they are addicted to the attention that their personal tragedies will bring.

# Question 4 Is your ‘friend’ interested in your life?

Toxic friendships are often incredibly one-sided, and that’s not a healthy way for a friendship to work! Does he ask about events happening in your life? Does he remember your favorite things, or take the time to go out of his way to make a hard day a little better?

Often, toxic friends aren’t interested in what they can give to a friendship, only in what they can take away from one. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of. After all, you are worthy of a friendship that enriches your life.

However, it can be hard to know how to reverse or end a toxic friendship, and this is where problem solving comes in.