9 Signs Of Envious Friends To Separate The Good From The Bad

Have you ever noticed signs of envy among your friends? We've all experienced envy at some point. It's a natural emotion that everyone goes through from time to time.

For instance, when you lose your job and see others vacationing on yachts, it's difficult not to feel a twinge of jealousy while you're struggling. However, jealousy becomes problematic when it starts to affect your relationships and daily life.

Friendships may occasionally encounter jealousy, but this is when it's essential to reflect on why you're feeling this way. Some people engage in self-reflection, but many do not. Their jealousy ends up damaging the relationships around them.

If you suspect that you have a jealous friend, you've probably found it challenging to be around them. You might feel like you have to walk on eggshells and carefully monitor what you say to avoid triggering them. However, this isn't what friendship is supposed to be about.

It's crucial to recognize the signs of envy among friends. This way, you can have an open conversation with them about their feelings or consider taking some time apart from the friendship. You deserve genuine friends who uplift you, not those who constantly try to bring you down.

Envy has no place in a friendship. So, take a moment to review these signs of envious friends and consider how many of them you observe in your own friendships.

# Your friend struggles with self-esteem issues

As we just discussed, everyone can have their jealous moments, but when you look past the feelings of jealousy, what do you see?

Envy and jealousy stem from insecurities and low self-esteem issues. A jealous person isn’t happy with their own accomplishments and feels insecure about their abilities.

# Your good news isn’t received positively

Maybe you received a promotion or lost weight and bought new clothes, and this is making your friend lose their mind with jealousy.

Of course, you shared the news with them because they're your friend, but they don’t celebrate your good news. Instead, they respond with negative comments.

# You can’t relax around them

Another sign of envious friends is that you can’t relax when you are with them. When you’re around your friends, you’re supposed to feel comfortable and relaxed.

However, when you’re around an envious friend, you feel tense and uptight. This isn’t a feeling you should ignore. Instead, explore why you’re having these feelings.

# Your friend is always trying to outdo you

When something good happens in your life, your friend turns it into a competition.

If something good happens to you, they try their best to outdo you. This is simply their insecurity and low self-esteem manifesting because they don’t want to feel "less" than you.

# They copy you

Your friend is jealous of you; let’s get one thing straight. This doesn’t mean they don’t want to be you. Rather, it’s the opposite.

Whether they’re jealous of your job, relationship, or the clothes you wear, they’ll try to imitate you. While Oscar Wilde said, “imitation is the best form of flattery,” we understand how irritating it can be as well.

# It’s all about false compliments

Your friend isn’t genuinely pleased to know you’re doing well in your life. When they're in a position to compliment you, they do so, but ensure it’s either a back-handed compliment or a fake one.

Admitting out loud that they’re genuinely happy for you is nearly impossible for them.

# They make you feel bad about yourself

Whatever the case may be, your friend puts you down to make themselves feel better. Since they’re envious of you, the only way to raise themselves above you is to make you feel bad about yourself.

They’ll make small comments like, “you’re having a lucky streak” or “you were just there at the right time.”

# They talk about you behind your back

When someone is envious of you, they’ll try to make everyone else see you as less than you are.

When your friend talks about you behind your back, they’re not praising you. Instead, they’re letting other people know how much better they are in comparison to you.

# They’re unsupportive

A friend is someone who is supposed to show support when you need it. What else are friends for? But, when you’re on your way to achieving a goal, they’re not supportive.

In other words, they don’t want anything positive to happen to you. So, they’ll show a lack of support in the hopes that you fail.