I’ve had my fair share of baaad friends, but that’s a story for another day! With those experiences, I spotted some key warning signs that you should be aware of in your friendships. I thought it was only right to share these with you so that you won’t end up in the same situations I was in!
The video above is a link to my YouTube video, where I explain the 3 warning signs. For a written breakdown, continue reading!
1
Jealousy
Now, this can be a tricky one to detect! Jealousy is sometimes something to joke about, but it’s important to pay attention to the signs which show that they’re not joking!! One of these I’ve spotted is when they are angry at your happiness. I’ve had situations with friends where I’ve actually been apprehensive to tell them good news, because I was worried about how they would react (this is a red flag in itself!!). Once I was in a situation where I told a friend some good news, and they laughed in my face. This was their way of dismissing the good news and subtly putting me down. This is a huge sign that can often go unnoticed because there’s no outrage or argument. Still, it’s very clear the person is unhappy with the news and that is not okay. If your friend displays signs of jealousy, it’s impossible to be friends with them! They will never truly be supportive of you and they may even try to sabotage you out of their own envy so be careful.
2
Competitive
Don’t get me wrong, competition can definitely be healthy and fun in the right situations. For example, being competitive in sports or games where there can only be one winner. In these situations, being competitive is completely fine and part of the fun! But, competitiveness in life is another story. Some friends really can be competitive about things where there really is no winner. Again, this can come in the form of subtle occurrences like deterring you from doing something and then going to do it themselves. It’s important to pay attention to the little actions because these can grow into bigger ones which could have more impact on your life.
Generally, your friends should be completely supportive of you and you should be building each other up. There’s no reason to ever be against each other or feel as though one is better than the other.
3
Backstabbing
So this warning sign is definitely the most obvious of the 3! And by that I mean, it’s obviously a bad thing which no friend should be doing. So if you catch your friend or find out that they’ve been talking about you behind your back then get rid! There’s honestly no question mark on this one because your friends should not in any way be sharing things you’ve told them in confidence, with other people. They also shouldn’t be talking negatively about you to other people. If they’re friends with you and have a problem with you, then they should respect you enough to tell you directly. If they don’t, then that’s a key sign of a toxic person who wants to gossip and stir drama and you don’t need that in your life.
There you have it. Those are my 3 warning signs for toxic friends. There are definitely more signs and behaviours to look out for but these 3 are ones I’ve experienced time and time again so definitely thought they were worth sharing! I hope you found it useful and if you have a friend in mind currently that fits any of the above descriptions, then do think carefully about whether to keep that person in your life.
Take care,
