A human is a being who has been created to live in the society. Since our childhood we have been taught certain norms which we are supposed to follow. That’s obvious that avoiding others’ company is perceived as a kind of eccentricity or at least lack of savvy, which one should finally get rid of. Have you ever been thinking of people and their influence on your life? If you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, it would be good to have a closer look at your relationships with people who surround you and the impact they have on you as a person. That’s true that humans belong to social creatures, who live, interact and co-create their everyday reality. Some relationships, whether between friends, relatives or partners, have a certain effect on the way we function and on the way we perceive the world around us.
Unfortunately, there are also relationships of toxic nature, which keep devastating our lives and our souls, they destroy all the good existing in us, everything which in different circumstances would surely blossom with a million of colorful flowers, bringing joy not only to us, but also to the ones who decided to share their lives with us. These are toxic people, who suck out our vital energy, torture our souls and bodies, which may finally result in a state of catatonia, the state which lots of you won’t manage to leave without some personal injuries and wounds you won’t be able to heal for years. Despite everything that recovery may follow, it’s good to start a fight for your own happiness and for the right space around oneself, even if the decisions you’ll have to make won’t belong to the easiest ones. As every cloud has a silver lining, after clearing your surroundings out of toxic people everything will get new colors; scentless flowers will change into the most fragrant ones attracting only what’s best for you; black will turn into white; grayness will be filled with the blaze of colors. Your life will turn upside down and you will be ready for everything you can achieve in a totally new reality, the one you’ll create on your own.
How to recognize toxic people? Sometimes it might not be an easy task, however, there are some symptoms, which should make you alert. Remember that you shouldn’t ignore your intuition. You often don’t listen to yourself and to what your heart tells you. That leads you to make poor life decisions, the ones which are really difficult to fix, if you don’t react on time. So what are the characteristics of toxic people?
- Me, me, me! – toxic people seem to believe that the only things which concern them are worth something. They not only focus mostly on themselves, not seeing anything else besides the tip of their nose, but they also force others to pay all their attention to them.
- I deal the cards here! – toxic people love the feeling of power, which they derive from controlling others. That’s why, they try to manipulate, hedge and present reality in a manner making everything go their way.
- That’s for sure your fault! – psychological abuse is certainly not a foreign notion to people who are prone to toxic behavior. They manipulate the reality and they choose the words in a way their victim feels guilty and worthless. In extreme cases they can also abuse others physically.
- I’m the victim! – toxic people are always particularly wronged by fate, everyone else is guilty, but not them. Presenting themselves as victims allows them to catch others’ attention and to be in the spotlight again. What’s more, everyone feels sorry for them.
- You’re amazing … what a moron! – toxic people don’t have sincere intentions in any kind of relationships. They are deprived of empathy, moreover, you can never know what they will really do, as everything depends on what they can win in a given moment.
- That’s not me, that’s the neighbor next door! – toxic people are compulsive liars, they seem to have problems with telling the difference between the reality and the world they created. Most of the times they’ll tell the truth only by mistake.
- You’ve failed again, you can’t do anything well! – toxic people love criticizing everyone and everything. They have their opinions on all possible topics, most of the times not the best ones. They do so to destroy others’ self-confidence and to make them stop believing in their own abilities. Humiliating and judging others makes them be in their element.
- Keep talking! – toxic people don’t listen, they’re not interested in what you have to say. They just want to find the audience for themselves, they are the stars in the spotlight!
- You’ve ruined your life again! – toxic people won’t feel sorry for you, even if they pretend to be concerned with your difficult situation. They love feeling better than others, controlling the situation, and your life misery is just a nutritious food for them!
- There’s nothing, everything is in ashes, ashes, ashes! – toxic people may have a disastrous effect on your life, when you finally wake up from lethargy it may already be too late for you. People who get involved with you without good intentions won’t make your life any better, just on the contrary, they will deprive you of hope, dignity, self-worth, which in turn may lead to depression, neurosis and in extreme cases to homicides under emotional restraint or to suicidal attempts.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to people who have a negative influence on you as a person. Don’t let them feed on you, don’t allow them to derive your vital energy and strength, which is certainly somewhere there in you, the one which you can use to be successful and to achieve great things! That’s obvious, it won’t be an easy decision to take, and once it’s done there’s no going back, you’ll leave ashes behind you, following the path into the light and building a better tomorrow…
See you around!
Yours,
Passion Piece
Photos by: Andre Tan , Peter Forster , Noah Buscher, Guilherme Stecanella , Sydney Sims, Yan Berthemy, Candice Picard on Unsplash
I've struggled with toxic people in my life and it's why I'm so careful about letting new people in. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
Yes! And I do avoid them. I don't have the patience or the time for toxic people.
It is not always easy to spot toxic people. So take advice from close friends when they warn you about someone.
It can be even harder when the toxic person is a family member! But it's oh so liberating finally getting them.out of your life!
Toxic people can be very adept at fooling people about them until it's too late. It's always better to get out than to stay.
Toxic people do nothing but bring you down! It's amazing how much better life is when you surround yourself with the right people. And there's less drama!
These have to be the coolest or freakiest pictures I've seen in a long time. Great post!
I do have some people in my life who are like that. been trying to get rid of them for 5 years now. But they keep coming back. It's hard when it's your own family.
You perfectly described one of my ex-friends. The solution for that was to simply cut that person out of my life and never look back.
Sometimes it's very difficult to avoid toxic people and dealing with them becomes really difficult. But for your mental and emotional health, it is very important to find and ignore them.
Great post. I'm a bit of an empath so I struggle with being surrounded by toxic people. It's hard to close myself off to them, especially if I live with them.
Great post , it’s hard sometimes to stand up to toxic people or even walk away from them .
I’m trying to keep toxic people from around me. I’m trying to stay In a happy place.
Those are perfect tips to try to avoid toxic people, in our lifetime unfortunately with have to deal with this kind of people if we want to or not.
Very well said toxic people mostly is horrible people to deal with. They are miserable and they want the people around them to be the same.
It has taken me years to recognise toxic people but I am so much happier without them in my life
Great post. Toxic people can really bring you down. I've had my share of dealing with them an I try to avoid them. Nothing good can come out of it.
Toxic people are draining! Every toxic person I've let into my life, I've regretted!
Wspaniały tekst, i zgadzam się, że niektórzy ludzie niestety 'żerują' na innych. Dla nas ważne jest, aby żyć własnym życiem. Jeśli każdy człowiek skupi się na swoich sprawach, planach, a co więcej na błędach jakie popełnia, to nie będzie 'dokuczał' innym ludziom. Oczywiście bliskim trzeba pomagać a nie podcinać Im skrzydła.
I think we are all often guilty of feeling like we can't say no to something or someone. Toxic people have a way of pulling you in, once you are strong enough to leave them behind it is wonderful how much of a difference it can make.
Always trying to pave my way with toxic people. It really affects us sometimes being around them. Just live life and be happy.