The complainers. The jealous. The drama queens. The bigots. The Debbie Downers. The manipulators. The hypocrites. All these people belong to the category of toxic individuals.
Whether they play mind games with you, try to take advantage of your kindness, lie to you, or suck all the positive energy out of you, these people only exist to make your life a living hell.
Considering the fact that we live in a world that is based on negativity, lies, and manipulations, I believe we’ve all met a person that matches that description. However, if you haven’t, here are 8 characteristics all toxic people have in common:
1. They’re highly manipulative.
Toxic people want to control everyone and everything around them. To get what they want from you, they’ll play with your mind and feelings in devious ways and discover your fears and insecurities and then turn them against you. To make you act in ways that suit their selfish needs, they’ll even make you doubt your own logic and perceptions.
2. They’re overly judgmental.
A toxic person won’t miss a chance to criticize you. And not only you, but they’ll openly judge and criticize your friends, your family, and your partner in front of you. They’ll even talk sh*t about their own family and friends in your presence.
Remember – a toxic person will always have something to criticize you about, even when you haven’t done anything wrong.
3. They disregard the feelings of others.
Toxic individuals don’t respect other people’s feelings. They don’t care whether they’ll upset you, make you feel bad about yourself, or even hurt you with their snide comments and bad actions. Moreover, they derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes and pains.
4. They’re unpredictable.
One more characteristic that makes toxic people unbearable is that they’re very inconsistent. They change their behavior so often that you never know where you stand with them. You can have a great conversation and laugh with them one moment, and then regret that you even met them the next.
5. They never support you and show interest in the things that matter to you.
The only person toxic individuals care about is themselves. They’re never interested in your life, i.e. in your feelings, opinions, needs, and desires. Even if they know that you’re going through a rough period in your life, they’ll never be there to support you and help you overcome your problems.
Additionally, toxic people will never support and motivate you to pursue your goals and dreams and encourage you to grow. Moreover, they’ll denigrate the importance of your successes and do their best to make themselves look better than you.
6. They make you feel like you constantly have to prove yourself to them.
When you’re in the company of a toxic person, you always feel like you’re walking on eggshells. Nothing you say or do is ever good for them. You never know when the right moment is to complain to them about something or discuss a sensitive issue with them because you never know how they’ll react or when they’ll fly off the handle.
Additionally, toxic people will often urge you to choose them over your close friends and family, and even completely distance yourself from your loved ones.
7. They make you defend yourself.
If you don’t show the willingness to speak your mind and stand up for yourself when talking with a toxic person, they can easily convince you that black is white and make you defend yourself when you are not even the one to blame.
So, if you ever get into an argument with a toxic individual, remember that trying to prove your point and resolve the issue is a complete waste of time. Because toxic people neither care about your opinion nor are they willing to compromise or solve the problem. All they want to achieve when arguing with someone is to make the other person feel like they’re the bad one and make themselves look innocent and kind.
8. They never apologize.
Never expect a toxic person to apologize to you no matter how bad they’ve hurt you because in their view – nothing is ever their fault. They’ll lie to you and hurt your feelings, but they’ll never admit it, feel remorse, or try to make it up to you. Instead, they’ll do their best to twist the story and place the blame on you. Even if they tell you: “I’m sorry,” don’t believe them because they don’t mean it.
