Everyone has been in a toxic relationship, whether that was a friendship or with a significant other. You might not realize it at first. Once you figure out that you are unhappy with this person, there will be many excuses used just to stay with that person. It's important to get out when you can for your own good.

I was in a toxic friendship, but I got out of it and it was the best decision. During my senior year of high school, one of my friends was in a group chat on Discord, and he added me to it. Everything was running smoothly until this one guy texted me privately. He was having some mental health issues, so I offered him my support and tried to help him as much as I could. At this point, I saw myself as a good friend who was just giving him advice and I didn't see that there was anything wrong.

We kept talking and I started to feel annoyed. Whenever he texted me, I would dread texting him back. I brushed it off and didn't think it was a big deal. I knew he needed some help, so I continued to be there for him as much as I could. I knew his mental health was suffering, so I wanted to make sure he was okay.

After several months, it started to affect me a lot. I would get very stressed and anxious about it. I realized that this was never a friendship, to begin with. He used me as someone to dump all of his emotional baggage on. Don't get me wrong, I love helping people. I will drop everything to help someone and I enjoy trying to make people feel better. However, this was taking more of my mental energy than I could handle. After staying in it for way too long, I decided to end it, so I could focus on school and myself.

Ending it didn't go as well as I thought. On Snapchat, the place we were communicating, I sent him a message along the lines that this friendship was one-sided which wasn't healthy and it wasn't helping either of us and then I blocked him. I forgot that he had me on Instagram. He messaged me literally begging me to stay and saying that he was always there for me and it was two-sided the whole time. That was a complete lie and I blocked him on everything.

I'm very glad that I got out of it when I did. I should've left way earlier, but for toxic relationships, you never know until after all of it happened. I felt guilty since he was struggling and I knew I was the person who was getting him through it. That was the main reason I stayed in it. I eventually learned that while I did help him, I needed to make sure I was focusing on my own health. After some time of being with my true friends, I didn't feel guilty. I felt happier and less stressed. For those who are in a toxic relationship now, I hope you will be able to get out of that negativity. I know it's hard, but getting out will be so beneficial to you. I believe in you :).