5 Seemingly Normal Habits That Are Driving Your Friends Crazy
As much as we love our friends, there are definitely moments when we could happily live without them.
Whether it's chewing with their mouths open or interrupting us in conversation, even our closest pals have habits that drive us a little crazy. But have you ever considered that you might have some annoying mannerisms, as well?
Keep scrolling to see 5 seemingly normal habits that are driving your friends crazy.
1. Talking About Your Exercise Goals or Diet
While unconditional self-love is always the goal, we all still have little freak-outs about our bodies. After all, you have to live in your body 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—it's okay if you're not always totally happy with it. What's not okay is peppering every conversation with your pals with little tidbits about your gym habits and food consumption. If you're truly struggling with your body positivity, it's okay to turn to your friends for support, but if you keep casually tossing your exercise goals and diet into conversation, it's going to get annoying.
At the core, it's a pretty self-centered topic and usually only serves to make people uncomfortable. Plus, there are more interesting things to discuss that can include everyone—try to veer towards some of those topics instead.
(New Girl via FOX)
2. 'When This Happened to Me' Stories
Honestly, all humans are just a little self-centered. That's why it's normal to relate almost everything that happens back to how it affects you, including your friends' stories or advice-seeking moments. But while telling a personal story might seem like a great way to get your point across or offer your friend some much-needed insight, it's actually quite annoying.
Instead of focusing on your friend, "when this happened to me" stories only serve to turn the conversation back to you, often resulting in your friend feeling like they weren't really heard. If your friend is sharing something with you, fight the urge to make the conversation about you. It'll make you a more present confidant, and it will keep your pal from getting annoying with you.
3. Not Putting Your Phone Away
Just because phones are an omnipresent force in our lives doesn't mean they necessarily should be. There are moments when putting your phone down is simply the polite thing to do, particularly when you're hanging out with friends. Having your nose buried in your phone keeps you from being truly present in any conversation your pals might be having, which can get excessively annoying. It's okay to unplug sometimes, and it might even make your relationship with your pals that much closer.
4. Borrowing Their Clothes
Borrowing things from your friends can be a bit of a slippery slope. No friend wants to tell you that you can't use something of theirs, so it's better to err on the side of caution when it comes to using your pals' things—particularly their clothes. Clothes are fairly personal items, so unless you know with 100% certainty that your friend doesn't mind you using a shirt here and there, you probably just shouldn't do it.
This rule is especially important if you tend to spill things or if you can't remember to return anything you borrow. If you can't return their belongings in mint condition, it's going to create some tension between you and your pal, so be careful about the things you borrow.
(Clueless via Paramount Pictures)
5. Incessant Gossiping
As much as we try not to, we all engage in a little gossip with our friends here and there. What are friends for, if not to have a quick vent sesh about something or someone that irritated you? However, no one wants to spend their entire lives trash-talking the people around them. Excessive gossiping brings a lot of unneeded negativity and frustration with it that your friends are not going to appreciate. Keep the gossip to the minimum. Or better yet—try not to do it at all.
Healthy friendship requires a lot of give and take, but not everything is up for discussion. Click HERE for compromises you should never make in a friendship.