We've all had people in our lives that drain our energy, people that somehow continue to stick around no matter how much we wish they wouldn't. It's in situations like these where what we do becomes especially difficult. Do we straight up tell them that there's no connection? Do we ignore them and hope they slowly go away? Or is there another option? With all of the hardship in the world, we don't need our "friends" to drain our energy as well. The people we should keep in our lives should be the people who make us feel good about ourselves, the people who push us to be our best.
It seemed appropriate to write this article before the school year starts up again, because whether we're starting freshman year in high school, sophomore year in college, or about to go to work at a brand new job, there are going to be new people we haven't met and experiences we haven't done. At some point in the next nine months, we're going to meet people we love and meet people we hate, and it's how we deal with those people that makes all the difference.
I define a toxic person as someone who makes you unhappy when you're with them, or someone who makes you feel as though you're obligated to either hang out with them or be in contact with them all the time. When it comes to people we could probably do without, there's no easy way to let them go. Whether it's breaking up with your partner or ending a friendship, there are going to be hurt feelings. One thing I've learned about letting people go though, is that you can't let their hurt feelings get in the way of why you're letting them go in the first place. I'm not recommending randomly ignoring people who you get in an argument with every once in a while, because if you do that, you'll end up with no one.
Going hand in hand with letting toxic people go is appreciating the good people you have in your life. There are so many different opportunities you'll have in life to reinvent yourself and meet new people, and you should take advantage of all of them. You don't need 1000 friends on Facebook to be happy, but having a solid group of people is extremely important. There's nothing wrong with not talking every second of the day, but check in on your friends every once in a while, especially if you haven't talked recently. I don't know about you, but seeing random messages from friends asking how I'm doing always make me smile, so I believe in doing the same.
Regardless of who the toxic people are in your life, whether they be friends, family, or someone in between, your happiness and mental health comes before all, so be sure to look after yourself first. There are so many people out there who have your best interest at heart who will be good to you, so don't be afraid to move on from the people that are only holding you back.
