5 Signs You’re Stuck in a Negative Friendship
Every relationship goes through a rough patch, friendships included.
But if these troubling times have been weighing for longer than you can remember, well, you might just be trapped in a toxic friendship.
Scroll through the list below to see if you're in fact dealing with a negative relationship.
1. You Feel Like You Can't Be Yourself
This goes without saying, if you don't feel comfortable being you around your friends, then they're clearly not your friends. You should easily be able to be your true self around your besties all the time.
If your friend shames you for being who you are, or even tries to change you to fit a certain mold, get out of that relationship pronto.
Of course, a good relationship will make you want to change negative aspects of your personality, but you should never feel like an entirely different person when you hang out with your friend. But not being able to recognize yourself in a relationship is never a good sign.
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2. You Feel Inferior to Them
They may be constantly dictating what you do and where you go, so much so that you basically start feeling like their pet rather than their friend.
If they never listen to your hangout ideas and always do what they want to do with no concern for your feelings, not a good thing. And if you standing up for yourself causes them to get defense, that's also a red flag.
Like any relationship, being friends with someone requires balance. If you're lacking that, you're pretty much lacking a solid foundation for an everlasting friendship.
3. You Can't Celebrate Their Victories
Listen, jealousy is something we all experience. But if you find yourself turning green with envy over every little good thing that comes their way, you have to reevaluate this relationship. Chances are if you're feeling this way, they probably are, too.
Friends are supposed to be there for each other. If neither of you can do that without transforming into a jealousy monster, your friendship is clearly toxic.
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4. You Get Annoyed by Everything They Do
We all get annoyed with each other. It happens. But you may find yourself getting annoyed by little things like the way they laugh or smile or even sneeze. Clearly there are some deep-rooted issues going on, if that's the case.
In these instances, we'd recommend the good ol' saying "If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it."
If changing the way you think about your friend and what they do still leaves you with negative feelings towards them, you've got to go.
5. You Dread Hanging Out With Them
This one's obvious, but if you don't even want to be in the same room as them, it's not a solid friendship.
Heck, if you actively try to avoid them in life, whether that be in-person or through texting and social media, why are you even friends with them?
You should be stoked to see your friends at any hour of the day, so not feeling that way definitely means something is up.
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Speaking of relationships, HERE are five signs you're not quite ready to be in a romantic one yet.