Most people in their life have to deal with someone who is self-absorbed, manipulative, or judgmental. It is safe to call them Toxic. These kinds of people cause unnecessary drama and are the driving force behind any conflict. Toxic people negatively impact the emotional well-being of those who have to deal with them. Some of them don’t know the impact they cause on others, and some drive satisfaction from all this. Toxic people maybe be deeply unhappy or actively destructive and constantly portray themselves as the victims. In this article, we will give general guidelines on how to stay away from these people. 

1. Distance yourself

Toxic people would be happy if other people would join them in their problems. That is because they feel better about themselves. People are pressured to listen to them so that they don’t come off as rude. But keep in mind that there is a fine line between being sympathetic and emotionally draining yourself for that person. The solution to this would be to distance yourself from that person. You are not obliged to listen to them every time, no matter the circumstances. Keep the interactions brief with them and light. 

2. Ignore them

The toxic person craves attention all the time. Even if the occasion is to celebrate others or their achievements. They will become loud and will interrupt others. These people tend to make everything about themselves. The best thing is to ignore them but make sure that it is done when other people are around because then they will not aggressively retaliate or get angry.

3. Don’t waste energy on pointless conflict

Toxic people would start a conflict with anybody willing to argue with them. Most of the time, there is no point to argue on the topic toxic people have created. These people do not desire to have a healthy argument or have a conclusion to the argument. If you recognize that the argument is not going anywhere, just disengage or ignore the other person’s attempts. 

4. Don’t gossip

Toxic people will gossip to you just to get your attention and frequently and they will frequently judge or gossip about others to you. If someone does this, don’t get fooled that they are gossiping with you just because they like you or trust you. They will just easily betray your trust. Toxic people gossip about others to you in hopes that you will agree with them, and when you do, they go on and tell the person creating misunderstanding. This is a divisive and manipulative way of gaining more friends and power in a social group. You don’t have to fall for it. 

5. Don’t fall for pity

Toxic people use pity to manipulate others. They also make their victims feel bad for finally standing up for themselves. Some people can recognize self-pity and how toxic people use it in their own toxic ways. It is not wrong to feel sorry for ourselves at times, but toxic people use this to regain the control they had. They will blame others for all the issues happening in their lives as long as there is someone who would listen. Avoiding self-pitying people would stop you from being sucked into their lives. 

Dealing with toxic people is something that we all have to face in our lives from time to time. These individuals would find some way to get into your life and try to control it by manipulating you. But it’s in your hand if you want them in your life and hinder it. Using these tips will help you to handle toxic people more effectively.