Some people seem to be surrounded by drama and negativity and wonder what causes it. They might feel that they have negative people in their life that they need to get rid of in order to feel better. Sometimes, though you can get so caught up in what you feel are other people’s toxic issues that you fail to recognize your own.
How can you know whether someone else is the problem or if you have toxic tendencies that you need to change? You can figure this out by learning to recognize what characterizes toxic behavior and try to consider whether you see these actions in others or in your own personal habits. Even though it might be hard to recognize your own toxic attitude or behavior, once you understand that you are creating the negativity in your life it can be easier to turn it around.
Signs of Toxic Behavior
The more you understand about what toxic behavior is, the better you will be able to identify these habits in yourself and try different tactics. You may not even realize that you are engaging in behavior that is jeopardizing your own mental health and well-being. Even you are only exhibiting a few of the signs then you may be creating a toxic environment for yourself.
One of the major signs that someone is toxic is that they find ways to put other people down in a way that makes them feel better. They might make act passive aggressively, make snide comments or have mean-spirited jokes because they enjoy making people feel small. A toxic person does these things because they are insecure and want to find ways to feel good about themselves.
If you ever try to make comments about people and hurt their feelings, even if you aren’t doing it intentionally it could be part of a toxic pattern. The more you do this more the people around you will realize that being around you is unpleasant. You might lose friends and start to isolate yourself pretty quickly.
Toxic people also often deal with a lot of anger and have trouble managing their emotions. If you feel angry all the time and tend to get worked up over the smallest things then it could be a negative sign. Even though you might feel that you are justified in your anger most of the time, it can be damaging for your mental health if you can’t figure out ways to let go.
Another symptom of being toxic can have to do with insecurity, jealousy and being unable to feel happy for other people when good things happen for them. Even though a little bit of jealousy can be normal when something amazing happens to someone else, having intense feelings of envy or even trying to minimize their good news is a sign that you are being toxic. If you love someone, you should want what’s best for them and let them shine instead of wanting them to be worse off than you.
Coping with Insecurity, Anger and Other Toxic Feelings
If you start to look at your behavior and wonder whether you are creating a toxic environment for yourself then start to examine the feelings that are causing you to act this way. Do you feel insecure about yourself because of your appearance, your abilities or where you are in life? Insecurity in itself is normal and natural but the way that you handle those feelings can start to become negative if you are not conscious of how it is affecting you.
Talking to a therapist can be a good start to help you learn to recognize when your behavior is appropriate and when you should take a step back and try to be more compassionate to yourself and to others. You can also talk to friends and family and ask them if there is anything you have done that bothered them or made them feel uncomfortable. The more you become aware of how your behavior affects other people, the easier it will be to adjust your actions.
When you experience a lot of negativity in your thoughts, it can be helpful to have someone to talk to about these feelings who can help you turn them around. Allowing negative thoughts and patterns to rule your life can cause things to become toxic very quickly. Learning to develop more positive thoughts about yourself and the people around you can help you heal and improve your mental health.
Finding healthy coping mechanisms for feelings of depression, anger and insecurity can be crucial in minimizing your own toxicity. If you are able to find effective ways to express these feelings and release them from your mind then you are less likely to become a toxic person.
