Signs You're in a Toxic Friendship

chaitanya sharma 03-Jul-2016 Image Source

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Building relationships with people is part of life. We all form strong friendships that make our lives healthier and happier. However, some friendships may be more harmful than they are helpful. 

1. They're Constantly Pressuring You To Engage In Unhealthy Behaviors

Sadly, peer pressure doesn't end in high school. Of course, as we get older, it generally becomes easier to resist a friend's attempts to influence your behavior and say no — but it's still not cool for a friend to constantly ask you to join them in drug use, breaking the law or anything else that you're not comfortable with. It's a sign of disrespect for your boundaries and choices . You're not always going to be on the exact same page when it comes to how you live your lives, but they should be sensitive enough to keep that aspect of their life away from you while you take steps to move forward.

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2. They Constantly Flake On You

We all need to cancel plans sometimes —we get sick, end up working late unexpectedly, or need to deal with an urgent family matter. It's unavoidable, and if your friend only flakes at the last second occasionally, there's no reason to read anything into it. But if you've come to expect a text with some vague excuse, sent an hour before you're scheduled to meet up, then your friend is probably avoiding you.

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3. They're Controlling Or Possessive

Romantic partners aren't the only people who can be possessive and jealous — but often we're less aware of the signs when it's a friend, rather than a boyfriend or girlfriend, who's trying to control us. Does your friend get angry and demand an explanation when you don't text or call them back immediately? Or make you feel guilty when you don't hang out with them every Friday and Saturday night? No matter how close you are, you each need to have your own lives. In a healthy friendship, you'll both feel secure enough about the relationship to trust that neither of you is avoiding or ignoring the other. And if you can't seem to make that happen, Don't stay in a toxic friendship

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4. You suffer from “friendship whiplash

Some toxic friendships jump back and forth between great and awful—that inconsistency can be a red flag. The unpredictability takes a toll on you.

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5. They always seem to be focusing on the negative side of things

Friends share the ups and downs of their lives with each other. However, friends who are toxic tend to always talk about how everything that is bad without seeing any of the good. They tend to ignore all the good which makes you ignore it as well bringing your mood and motivation down.

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