I guess you’ve already met someone who fits into the category of toxic people because these people literally lurk around every corner. Although these individuals come in all shapes and sizes, they all have one thing in common: They can drain your energy and suck the life out of you before you can blink.
To save yourself from falling into the trap of a toxic person, you need to know how to recognize them and handle them effectively. In what follows, we’ve presented some valuable pieces of information that can help you identify toxic individuals easily and save yourself from falling victim to their cruelty and lies.
1. They make drama all the time.
They’re highly negative. They’re always going through crises and problems. Nothing ever works well in their lives. They act like they’re helpless and desperate and like other people can’t understand them. And if you try to offer them your advice, it’ll be in vain because they’ll refuse it by telling you they know it won’t help them, so why bother following it.
2. They have a lot to say but don’t bother to listen to others.
Toxic people possess narcissistic characteristics and only focus on themselves. They consider themselves smarter, better, and more successful and important than everyone else. That’s why they never show interest in other people’s opinions and ideas.
They don’t think other people deserve their attention and time. In their view, whatever others think or have to say is either wrong or irrelevant.
3. They like to control everyone and everything.
When these people want something from you, they’ll do whatever it takes to get it. And the easiest way they can do this is by gaining total control over you.
Thus, a toxic person will try to control your thoughts, feelings, and actions. They’ll try to make you act in ways that suit their needs the best. They will hurt your feelings and treat you ruthlessly if they have to, but they’ll never give up on achieving their purpose.
4. They disguise their lack of tact as ‘honesty’.
Of course, they will admit that they insulted you the other day, but they won’t be ashamed to tell you that they didn’t mean to offend you or hurt your feelings and that they were only being honest.
They’ll even say they did that for your own good and that you should be grateful to them for being open with you.
5. Their relationships are only for show.
They don’t bother to form healthy, meaningful, harmonious, lasting relationships with others because they don’t believe they need anyone to be happy and fulfilled. They believe they’re completely self-sufficient.
Their friendships and romantic relationships are not genuine. They can appear to have plenty of friends, but that’s all just a mask. They don’t truly love and care about other people – they just use them to show how popular they are.
6. They lie all the time.
They lie excessively and for various purposes: to take advantage of others, to avoid admitting to and taking responsibility for their own mistakes and wrongdoings, or to cover up a previous lie – to name just a few. They lie so much that it’s impossible to keep track of their lies. Sometimes, even they can’t tell what the last lie they said was.
7. They enjoy gossiping.
Gossip is malicious and totally meaningless, yet, to a toxic person, it’s something that gives them pleasure and joy. It’s unbelievable, but there are people who enjoy hurting other people’s feelings by talking bad things behind their backs and spreading lies about them. Are you wondering why?
Well, the answer is pretty simple. Gossip is their way of boosting their own weak ego and self-esteem by tarnishing other people’s reputation.
What’s the best way to deal with toxic people?
It’s important for you to understand that toxic people hurt other people’s feelings and behave the way they do because they suffer internally. They’re not satisfied with their own lives, so they think that by putting other people down and hurting their feelings, they’ll feel better about themselves.
Trying to ‘give them a taste of their own medicine’ or simply getting into angry arguments with them won’t do you any good. And yes, distancing yourself completely from them would be the easiest way to protect yourself from their negativity.
However, when you can’t do that, because chances are you have to see and interact with such people on a daily basis since they happen to be your family members or coworkers, what you should do to save yourself from their toxic grip is develop empathy and compassion for them and try to remain calm and stable whenever a toxic person tries to provoke you.
You can extinguish their anger and negativity not with harsh reactions, but by treating them with patience and empathy. And chances are when they see that you’re treating them well, they’ll change the way they behave towards you as well.
Riley Cooper is a professional writer who writes informative and creative articles on topics related to various fields of study. Written with love and enthusiasm, her articles inspire readers to broaden their knowledge of the world, think and get ready to act. If you have a general question or comment please fill out the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible https://curiousmindmagazine.com/contact-us/
