It seems it’s impossible to hide from constant complainers, angry cynic people, pessimists, and negative people. Whoever they are – your friends, your boss, your sister-in-law – can sometimes be unavoidable, but the way you respond to them is your choice. If you’re not careful, they will overtake you and will have negative influence on the way you think, feel, and behave. Find out whether toxic people are getting the best of you:
1. You talk about them in their absence – Talking about negative people when they’re not around gives them more power over your life and takes away your time and energy.
2. You lose your temper easily – toxic people can mix up strong emotions. Watch out before your frustration turns to rage. When toxic people get the best of you, you may feel like you’re not in control of your emotions.
3. Your self-esteem decreases because toxic people are often rude, offensive, insulting, and downright degrading. Remember that your self-confidence is up to you and should never be dependent on someone else.
4. You blame toxic people for your behavior. Stop doing that and accept the responsibility for your actions. Don’t blame other people for what’s going on in your life – it’s probably a sign that toxic people have too much power over you.
5. You feel anxiety if you have to spend time with them – feelings of dread can consume a lot of your time and energy. Spending time with a negative person, whoever that might be – a relative, co-worker, your boss, neighbor – is a waste of your precious time, leading up to it is a sign that a toxic person is all-consuming.
6. If you’ve started thinking, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” you have definitely stooped to their level and you may start behaving in a way that isn’t in accordance with your values. Eventually, it will only cause chaos in your life.
7. You should set healthy boundaries if you want to protect yourself emotionally from their clutch. Toxic individual’s manipulative tactics make it difficult to set healthy boundaries.
8. You resort to unhealthy handling mechanisms such as eating comfort food, or pouring yourself a drink. It’s ok, you’ll feel better – but just briefly. If you indulge these mechanisms over the long term, they can cause problems.
9. Your family relationships suffer. Don’t yelling at your children or argue with your spouse just because you are in a bad mood because of a toxic individual you couldn’t deal with.
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