Not all relationships or friendships provide a sense of happiness, comfort and belonging. Some can be outright stressful, hurtful and what Gen z likes to refer to as “toxic.” A toxic relationship can range from never-ending bad vibes to feeling completely unsettled and troubled by how a person treats others. It’s simply mentally and emotionally exhausting to deal with a constantly destructive person who brings others down. Here are some toxic traits and ways they can impact relationships.
Negativity
It’s extremely difficult to always have a positive outlook on life and every situation, but regularly displaying negative emotions or a negative tone can deteriorate others’ mental and emotional wellbeing. Constantly complaining and finding the worst in everyone’s situation can make others feel distressed. No one’s saying that people aren’t allowed to have bad days, but allowing that emotion to control the way they treat others and drag them down isn’t okay.
Never Taking Responsibility
Not only is avoiding responsibility a toxic trait, but it’s also a sign of being emotionally immature. This doesn’t only include taking responsibility for what they’ve said or done but also the emotional damage they’ve caused others. Not being able to recognize misplaced emotions or hurtful comments and actions shows that they aren’t taking steps to reflect on their outbursts and see how they’ve hurt the other person. This ties in with the next toxic trait of not being able to say, “I’m sorry.”
Not Apologizing
Ever been accused of bringing up old problems or living in the past when requesting an apology? A person’s inability to apologize for their wrongdoings means that they’ve yet to acknowledge their mistakes. A toxic person’s great at shifting the blame and refusing to accept their faults in any situation. It’s impossible to bring up how their actions affected another person without them getting upset or deflecting. Not being able to apologize to a hurt party can cause that person to feel unheard and defeated.
Gaslighting and Manipulation
Though it’s common to hear phrases like “you’re crazy” or “you’re too sensitive,” they make a person question their sanity and experience. These people blatantly lie to hurt others or diminish the importance of their feelings. Pressuring or guilt-tripping someone into doing something they have no interest in doing is a common form of manipulation. It exploits a person’s emotions and feelings and usually leads to a person feeling uncomfortable or weary in a situation. This’s also a common way of violating boundaries in terms of making someone talk about or do things that they aren’t comfortable with.
Being Unsupportive
Jealousy’s a very common and natural human emotion, but if someone’s unable to encourage, support or be happy for the things another has accomplished or experienced, it’s discouraging and discomforting. This trait can range from making jokes about accomplishments or pointing out the faults and negative aspects of someone else’s progress. All in all, this can make a person feel judged and question the magnitude of their achievements.
It takes an emotionally mature and self-aware person to recognize a person’s toxic traits and how they’re affecting their relationships with others. Feeling socially drained by how a person acts isn’t okay, and it’s likely not providing a healthy or positive environment for development. Thanks for reading about some toxic traits and different forms that they can appear in.