7 Traits of Subtly Toxic Friends
Psychologists say these are the signs to watch out for.
When I went to college, I was popular for the first time in my short, nerdy life. I’d been a bookish dweeb until the age of 18. Suddenly, I was hot and I was cool. People wanted to hang out with me, get my approval, be in my circle.
In those heady months, I could scarcely believe I’d managed to stumble into the popular crowd seemingly by accident. And I was terrified to lose my newfound status. I clung to those incredibly cool friends with every ounce of determination I had in me, dedicated to staying popular no matter the cost.
Of course, if you’ve read the title of this article you’ll realize the cost was much higher than I realized at the time: these friends were horrible for me, and they left marks that haven’t entirely faded. They brought out the worst in me — my pettiness, my love of gossip, my willingness to conform, my vanity. And they made me want to tamp down what I now love most about myself — my weird quirks that make me who I am.
These are the seven traits that I now know are bright red warning signs for toxic friends, and how you can spot them.
