Fuzzable
While it would be great if all of our friends, family and the people we deal with were always nice, pleasant and kind, this isn’t always the case. In fact, interacting with those who exhibit toxic behavior is actually quite common. Not only is it stressful and annoying to deal with, but it can also put you in a very bad mood.
However, it doesn’t have to. There are some ways that you can intelligently deal with toxic people without having it take a gigantic toll on you and your mood. This article will take a closer look at a few of those ways.
Set Limits For Yourself and Distance Yourself
While toxic individuals don’t do well when you set boundaries for them, there is nothing wrong with setting a couple of different boundaries for yourself. As a result, you should be sure to have some limits in place when dealing with these people such as not investing a ton of time in them, keeping conversations fairly light and exit the situation if they start to exhibit extremely toxic behavior.
The longer you stick around and the less amount of boundaries that you have in place, the better the chance that the person will start to become toxic. Now, you likely don’t want to cut this person off completely, but limiting your time around them and keeping a distance is normally a good call.
Use Your Support System
If you are having trouble dealing with someone incredibly toxic in your life, it can be a good idea to spend some time with some non-toxic friends or family members that you have. It can feel amazing to vent and to simply be around someone who isn’t complaining, criticizing or blaming other people.
If you don’t have a solid support system, you can look online for help. There are a ton of great forums and online message boards that will offer great advice. And if you just need some inspiration, you can check out some helpful and powerful quotes online to help (read for more details).
Pick Your Battles
If you have ever dealt with a toxic individual, you know the sort of back and forth event it can be. On one hand, you don’t want t constantly be scolding them or telling them to stop their behavior, but on the other, you don’t want them to think you are okay with the sorts of things they are doing or saying. As a result, it is incredibly important to pick your battles and pick them wisely.
Also, when you criticize or argue with a toxic individual, it can often turn into a war, so it is best not to do that every single time you see them or spend time with them. Instead, rate their behavior on a scale from 1-10. If it is relatively minor, let it slide and save the argument for another day. But if they are particularly toxic, it might be worth bringing up and speaking about.
Don’t Participate in the Negative or Abusive Behavior
When toxic people are being toxic, the only thing they like more than an audience listening to their behavior is someone joining in on it. However, the last thing you should do is participate in the same behavior they are and sinking to their level. This can be extremely hurtful to people and can easily lead to you becoming a toxic person yourself.
Even if you don’t participate in the negative behavior, you also shouldn’t normalize it. If you don’t call them out for their toxic behavior, they will soon be able to exhibit it all the time and feel that you are okay with it. You need to change the subject or simply walk away from the conversation if they are showing signs of toxic behavior.
In conclusion, dealing with toxic people can be a big-time hassle and can cause of a lot of stress Hopefully the tips and ways of dealing with these people in this article can help. Now, these types of coping methods aren’t developed instantly, and you will need to work on them, but they can pay off in a big way in the future.
