Published on 10 May 2023

7 Signs Of A Toxic Person: Be Aware

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A person is full of positive, negative, or angry emotions. This drastically impacts physical or mental health. Every individual needs to maintain a healthy relationship. But it's just another side of the coin; an individual has to deal with toxic people.

Toxic people can be seen in your family, friends, or workplace. Even romantic couples can become toxic to each other. Sometimes people get confused while identifying the toxicity. 

It's common to have different opinions on a subject, but sometimes ideas don't match in specific situations, and then a person starts criticizing. It's natural to play a blame game, but are they toxic? Let's understand this concept.

What Is A Toxic Person?

For every individual, the definition of toxicity is different. Mainly, a toxic person is someone who brings negativity into your life. They can negatively impact the person around them and create a toxic environment. They usually blame others for their mistakes and gain others' support.

Mostly, people become toxic because of stress and trauma. They usually pretend everything is fine, but deep down, they are battling their drawbacks. Toxicity is not a mental disorder; a toxic person can face mental problems. 

Toxicity occurs due to jealousy or hate, which is common in human emotions but should be within limits. Once the boundary is crossed, the toxicity will start. 

Frequently asked questions

Toxicity can be seen in every type of relationship. If someone is toxic to someone, it doesn't mean they would be toxic to others. It all depends on different individuals.
Yes, there are high chances of changes in a toxic person. This can happen due to the surroundings or the people around.
Love is the most adorable thing in this world, but sometimes, it becomes toxic due to a lack of trust. A toxic person can blackmail their partner emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

How To Identify A Toxic Person?

Identifying a toxic around you can be difficult, but mostly they can be recognized by their behaviors that add negativity to your life. Being a human, it is natural to hate someone for their work, thinking, habits, etc. Still, when a person starts judging you by minor incidents and pulls you down toward your goal, it is related to toxicity.

A toxic person always follows a pattern to spread negativity. It may be seen in their conversation, expressions, and any other movement. Instead of focusing on toxic people, always concentrate on your goals. As the great comedian Charlie Chaplin said, "You can't find the rainbows if you're looking down."

What Causes A Person To Become Toxic?

Toxicity in a person can occur due to various factors. Personal issues such as past traumas, low confidence, or untreated mental problems may contribute to their toxicity. An individual's environment can also make them toxic.

You might face toxic people in your professional life when they get promoted. Usually, it is because of confidence in their work, but later they behave differently with their colleagues, which can be toxic. This situation can also be called misusing power. This usually happens in personal or professional life.

Types Of Toxic People

A person can hate someone according to the situation, but once you start to hate others constantly, then it might be possible that you are now becoming toxic. The following are the types of toxic people you can see near you.

Narcissist

These types of people may look charming at first sight, but it's delusional regarding love and trust. They will try to operate you in ways you can't even understand. They also lie and do things to keep their image clean as a mirror.

Gossipers 

This type of person always loves to gossip and hear rumors about others. They also share the gossip to feel comfortable about themselves and to bully the targeted person. This can be seen in your surrounding area, and If you meet these people, it is better not to reveal your mattress.

Self-destructive 

In this approach, a person has repeatedly harmed themselves by their behavior. Then it is necessary to support them and guide them toward professional help. Still, if they continue to harm themselves, then at a point, it may impact the mental health of those people who are supporting them. In that case, please stay away from them for a while.

Emotional Clingers 

First, this type of person creates an emotional attachment with you, then use you according to the situation and leave after they get satisfied. This can impact mental health if the attachment becomes very close. They always want assurance from people and stop others for emotional fulfillment. Even they can also change their mind at their convenience.

The Victim

A toxic person always plays the victim role in a condition to get their way or get out of a tricky situation with ease. They will never confess their mistakes in front of others; instead, they blame you because you are the victim of every situation. Beware of this type of people.

Liar And Frenemy 

A person full of toxicity will lie every time cause it's like second nature. They don't have a problem lying to their close ones as they want to create their image clean and neat. They can leave your relationship or friendships abruptly.

Bad Influence 

One person exists in every group where they conduct unusual activities that can cause others to be in trouble. Even after giving a warning, they don't stop doing this kind of thing because they find satisfaction in it. In that case, you should keep a distance from them even if they invite you.

7 Signs Of A Toxic Person 

A person usually does many things which represent them as a toxic person. Sometimes sure signs can also help an individual to identify a toxic person. Here are 7 common symptoms of a poisonous person mentioned below.

Harmful Communicators 

An average person communicates daily with others, but sometimes the communications worsen due to certain situations. If someone talks with you for a while, you suddenly ignore their words. Then they may raise their voice and push your opinions aside. They often force you to agree with their statement because they want to be in a place of power.

Blaming Others For Their Mistakes

A toxic person can change the scenario by blaming others for their mistakes. From their perspective, they are always right. They can create a fake story to be innocent in front of others. This is a common way they represent themselves as they feel secretly insecure. In some situations, they might say, "You are not listening to me, which hurts my feelings." although they are hurting you.

They Gaslight You 

A toxic person makes you think about yourself negatively. Gaslighting is a common sign of a toxic person. They mislead and invalidate your opinions and forcefully try to prove you wrong. So they can manipulate you for their purpose. They often say things like; I love you more than me, that's why I did it; it never happened; you never spent time with me, etc., which can leave you frustrated and confused.

Dramatic Person 

As mentioned earlier, a toxic person can lie constantly; they don't even regret it. But if others catch them, they act like innocent ones. While apologizing, it isn't easy to know whether they are honest.

They Make You Feel Guilty 

A toxic person controls your relationship by telling you how serious they are about the relationship, but you are not! This situation can occur in friends, family, or couples. This type of person makes you guilty without understanding your side. Most people do this, and if you are doing the same, try to listen to others.

Commenting On Others

A toxic person can look very supportive in front of an individual, but once the individual leaves, they start trolling. Spreading rumors and secrets, commenting, gossiping, etc., are their favorite things to do in social life.

Love Bombing 

In this sign, a person may show excessive love at the start of a relationship. They will give a lot of attention emotionally and physically. They moved so fast in the relationship, which stopped their affection as quickly as it started.

Other Signs Of A Toxic Person 

Apart from these above signs, there are a few other signs that exist which are mentioned below. It is because the symptoms of a toxic person can't be explained in just seven forms.

Change Their Emotions Quickly 

Toxic people can have excessive emotions, changing them on a dime. Sometimes they seem happy, but they become angry the next minute and scream at you for no reason. This can be highly frustrating and confusing for those in contact with them.

They Can't Let Go Of The Past 

If a person gets hurt by others, they sometimes use their past to make others feel guilty. While in a session, If an individual forgets to call back their friend, then the friend may start digging into the old incident, again and again, to make an individual guilty.

They Ignore Boundaries

Toxic people can cross the boundaries you have set. They might come to your home or office without informing you. They might decide without consulting you. They already know what you like and what you don't. Still, they do various things to bully you.

They Don't Respect Your Time

You also have a friend who never responds to you when you need them, but if they call you at their worst, you will answer and help them. Everyone faces an ordinary situation, but it should be fixed if it's frequently occurring.

Signs You Are Spreading Toxicity In A Relationship

Relationships are complex and need trust, commitment, and a healthy conversation from both ones to succeed. Sometimes people don't even realize they are creating toxicity in their relationships. Here are some signs given below that you should avoid.

  • Assuming yourself as you are always right.
  • Trying to control your partner's life and decisions.
  • You are always criticizing and complaining about your partner.
  • You don't respect your partner's value.
  • Always blaming them instead of understanding them.
  • You never take responsibility.
  • Blackmailing your partner emotionally.

Can A Toxic Person Harm Your Mental Health?

Having a toxic relationship or friendship can ruin your comfort zone. A toxic person can conduct various activities that you don't like. This person includes undesirable and unsupportive behavior, which can also impact others' behavior.

A person never comes with toxicity, but due to some circumstances, they start spreading toxicity. Having a Company of toxic people may contribute to a toxic environment that can cause stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems.

How To Deal With Toxic Person?

Dealing with a toxic person is not as easy as calling them toxic. It is a situation that should be understood and addressed. Keeping a distance from toxic people is the best way, but if a toxic person is a part of your family, you find different ways to deal with them. Here are some following methods to deal with toxic people.

Stay Calm - Try to keep your mind calm and relaxed even as you get upset by the toxic person. Calming your mind would be an excellent choice for dealing with toxic people.

End The Conversations If It Becomes Toxic - When you identify a conversation that is likely to have toxicity. Then end it as soon as possible. You can complete the exchange by saying, "I don't want to discuss this anymore."

Notice The Problems Of A Toxic Person - While dealing with a toxic person. Try to figure out their problems, and feel free to tell them what makes them unhealthy. If they know you better, they will try to change.

Cut Contact - If the toxic person is not improving even after telling them. Then it's better to cut off contact with them. If you don't want to cut them, try to limit your time together.

Also read

Bottom Line From Practical Anxiety Solutions

A toxic person can be found in professional and personal life. Mainly, a toxic person is someone who creates negativity in your life. Often people get difficulty identifying the toxic one. Primarily a toxic person can be identified through their negative behavior. 

Apart from this, there are some common signs that a toxic person exists, such as harmful communicators, blaming others for their mistakes, being a dramatic person, and many more, which have been mentioned above. After all, hating someone is the shared nature of humans. But if someone's hate crosses its limit, it might be considered toxicity.