Friendships do not always turn out the way we want them to. Sometimes, you find yourself deep within a toxic friendship and, before you know it, it’s impacting your mental health and wellness. It’s not uncommon for us to ignore red flags in a friendship. However, there are clear signs that you can look out for to safeguard your mental well-being.
In sync with the thought, we spoke to Dr Sonal Anand, Psychiatrist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road, Mumbai, to understand these red flags. Here are six signs you are in a toxic friendship that needs to end ASAP.
How a toxic friendship impacts your mental health
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Dr Sonal Anand shares, “A toxic friendship can really bog you down and make you lose your self-confidence. Any toxic relationship carries extra baggage which can be difficult to handle. It can change you as a person, reduce your creativity and lessen your originality. Due to pressure, you could be predisposed to adverse effects of stress on the body and mind. You lose focus and a lot of energy which could have been used on something more progressive.”
Signs you are in a toxic friendship
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Dr Anand adds, “Feeling stressed when thinking about the friendship, feeling low, irritable or even fearful around your friend are the signs that you should look out for.” Here, we list some similar signs.
1. They are always right
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It doesn’t matter what you say—if you’re in a toxic friendship, your opinion will rarely ever matter. In the long run, agreeing with everything your friend says could get tedious and you will end up realising how important it is to have agency and stand your ground.
2. They gossip about you behind your back
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It could be something you might have been noticing and ignoring for a while. Most importantly, when called out, they are likely to get defensive and gaslight you into believing that you are a bad friend for not trusting them enough.
3. You dread confiding in them
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They are a sweet talker but, given their tendency to gossip, you aren’t sure whether sharing your thoughts on any given subject is a great idea.
4. You are walking on eggshells all the time
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Their temper can’t be predicted and given their tendency to be moody AF, you are always second-guessing yourself and your thoughts.
5. You dislike spending time with them
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Does a text from them fill you with dread instead of excitement? It’s a major sign of a toxic friendship. While you don’t wish to confront them, off late, you find yourself trying to avoid their company.
6. Everything they do is based only on their convenience
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Whether it’s hanging out, calling you or doing something else, all their decisions take only their convenience into consideration, leaving you with zero room to do anything as per your plan. In contrast, anything you plan will almost always never pan out.
How to end a toxic friendship
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Whether or not you wish to end things is a personal decision that you should take independently.
Speaking about what could be helpful, Dr Anand says, “The decision about ending a toxic friendship should be weighed accordingly. Amicable farewells help. Ending a toxic friendship should always be an informed decision and doing it peacefully can help you move ahead with a positive attitude, also giving you some time to heal.”
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