How to stop being a toxic person

People of a toxic nature They are those who, usually without realizing it, create a negative environment, criticize other people but do little self-criticism, do not see positive things, always end up arguing and, as a consequence, damaging those around them and losing friendships and relationships.

It is normal for people to want to save a friendship when it has been damaged, but there comes a point where it may be impossible to do so if the toxic person does not do their part to improve this aspect. For this reason, many times the most positive people, or who see both sides in things, end up fleeing from toxic people.

It should be borne in mind that, although negativity is a characteristic trait of this type of personality, not all negative people are toxic, since the difference is that the latter end up damaging and absorbing the energy of others and, on the other hand, negative people may not continuously harm those around them because they know how to respect and listen even seeing only the black side of things .

Everyone, sometime in our life, we have seasons in which we can identify with some of the traits that characterize people with toxic character, but this does not mean that we have always been and / or that we will always be a person who harms others . It is in our hands to be aware and decide to do something about it.

Therefore, although knowing how to recognize a toxic person and identify oneself in this way of being may not be easy, it is the first step to begin stop being a toxic person. Thus, the path begins to become a somewhat more positive, assertive, empathetic person who creates more pleasant environments, that is, a nurturing person. Although, if we do not want to go as far as it can be very difficult to change, we can at least soften toxic features and thus stop constantly damaging those around us.

Once you identify yourself as someone toxic, the decision is yours, so the second important step is to know if you want to change or not. In the following lines you will find the keys to stop being a toxic person.

Ask yourself what aspects of your personality and your behaviors are causing you to be toxic. Discuss possible reasons to be able to work on them later.

When you decide what behaviors and feelings you don’t want to continue having, imagine how you could be with more positive behaviors. You can try these steps:

1. Focus on what you want to change and on emotional resources such as tolerance, relaxation, patience, and self-criticism.
2. Imagine situations in which you are aware that you have been toxic with someone and think how you would have responded if you had been more relaxed, more tolerant, listened, etc. Hopefully, the other person’s reaction would have been completely different and things wouldn’t have gone so bad.
3. When you see what emotional resources you really need to work on and reinforce, try to use them on a day-to-day basis.

It is common to need professional help to try to solve some internal problems or to learn to approach some situations. Do not hesitate to consult a psychologist if you think that can help you improve your current situationIn addition, this will also help you to get stop being a toxic person.

Discuss with this professional the reasons why you think you have become someone toxic and why you want to change it, so they can advise and guide you.

Learn to laugh and see things with more positivity it is vital to stop negative and harmful behavior. Try to enjoy the little things even if you don’t give them too much importance. Little by little you will see that it is good to enjoy, be more positive and laugh, that it is a healthy habit and that over time it will be completely natural and easy.

Also, you must work tolerance and flexibility with others, so you will be able to stop being so critical and negative.

Toxic people tend not to listen to what people want to say to them, they just tend to believe that they are absolutely right and that their point of view is more logical. Therefore, to avoid this, try make an effort to listen carefully when others want to tell you something. Let them talk, listen carefully, and when they are done, then you can give your opinion without being aggressive or invasive. To reinforce this, try work assertiveness and empathy. You can read this other OneHowTo article to find out how to be empathetic.

Practice self-criticism trying to be realistic It will help you to realize that you are not perfect, that like everyone else you have your flaws and that some of these can be improved and others are part of your personality. Thus, you will see what things you can and want to change to improve.

But be careful, it is not recommended that you practice self-criticism constantly, since it is not about punishing yourself or reducing your self-esteem, but about improving aspects to find a balance.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to stop being a toxic person, we recommend that you enter our Friendship category.