A toxic friendship is actually an unbalanced friendship in which a friend frequently suffers and feels hurt. Knowing how to recognize the obvious or the most deceptive signs allows you to see more clearly and to evaluate or break down if necessary.

analyze your feelings

It can be hard to define a toxic friendship if you don’t pay enough attention to your feelings or prefer to ignore them. Often in a malicious way, toxicity begins with unwanted and degrading criticism that develops into increasingly disingenuous manipulation and leads to doubt and loss of self-confidence.

Then the victim begins to feel guilt, whether or not she saw the toxic person, and is guilty of being uncomfortable. The fist at this moment is at its climax, and the victim can no longer even perceive the toxicity of the relationship, to the point of losing freedom.

Put an end to perfection

A toxic friendship depends neither on the age of the friends nor on the duration of the friendship. Most of the time it is the idealization of the other that poses a problem and prevents the friend from seeing the way he is. Toxic people also have manipulative abilities that allow them to adequately exercise their control and lock their victim into exclusivity.

Knowing how to recognize the qualities and flaws of a friend, as well as a feeling of freedom, respect and support are guarantees of balance in a relationship. Friends should take and take the same amount and quality without overinvesting in the relationship or absorbing each other’s negativity. If not, run away!

Find out more: “Croque-moi!: A Novel of Toxic Relationships” by Hasna Haq.