Live A Happier Life By Avoiding These 5 Types of Toxic Friends

Good friends can be hard to come by so we should be grateful for them. Sadly, toxic friends are more common so we should know how to recognize them and avoid them.
Ever hooked up with a friend looking forward to a good day but ended up going home feeling miserable because of the time you spent with them? Toxic friends can bring us down and ruin our self esteem. Much like an unhealthy relationship, a toxic friendship is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Thankfully, avoiding the wrong types of friends is much easier than escaping a problematic relationship. You can simply choose to spend less time with them, or in some cases, cut them out of your life altogether.

Why accept having your energy drained or continually have your own decisions and preferences questioned by someone who can’t accept you for who you are.

By learning to identify the various types of toxic friendships you will know who you need to avoid, and you’ll be better able to determine who your real friends really are.

Here are 5 types of toxic friends that it’s best to avoid.

#1 The negative friend
Some people are constantly pessimistic and always see the worst in everything. A negative friend focuses on the bad things and loves to talk about their problems. They seem oblivious to the good side of things and will bring your life energy down when you are around them.

Spending time with them will leave you feeling drained. Their negativity makes them depressing to be around. It’s worth talking to them to help them see that their perspective on life could be different, but if they can’t start seeing things more positively you might want to avoid them and surround yourself with people who are more optimistic.

#2 The drama queen
The drama queen can be male or female, and you’ll recognize them by their ability to turn even the smallest bump in the road into a major crisis. They thrive off of the drama and the attention they get from it. But it’s tiring and being around them feels exhausting and unfulfilling.

Sometimes their ways can attract unwanted attention and embarrass you, and maybe even get you into trouble. Keep your distance for a more peaceful life.

#3 The reckless friend
Maybe you want to go out and have a good time and get home safely without incident. But your reckless friend has a tendency to get into trouble and drag you into it as well. It may be that they get drunk and then the mayhem commences. Whether it’s getting into fights, being a nuisance to the public, or putting their life and the lives of those around them at risk, the reckless friend is a liability.


If you have found yourself in too many risky situations because of a friend like this, maybe decline the invites to go out for a while and they might start questioning their behavior. If they can’t figure it out for themselves then tell them why you are no longer keen to go out with them, and maybe they will change. Or maybe not.

#4 The jealous friend
Being jealous of friends is fairly common. It’s entirely natural for people to be better than others at certain things, or to be more successful. But some friends can’t handle feeling jealous too well and may take it out on you.

They might start bad-mouthing you behind your back in an attempt to level the playing field and bring you down in the eyes of others. Or they might say some cutting things to you to try and smash your self confidence.

It’s usually quite easy to spot jealousy. Real friends are happy for you when you do well and will praise you and celebrate your wins with you. Jealous friends can’t bring themselves to do this.

#5 The unreliable friend
This type of friend will let you down constantly. They might always show up late, or cancel on you last minute. They might promise to help you with something important but then find an excuse not to.

If over time you feel like you are always being let down by a friend then they may not respect you enough. By putting up with this for too long, you will start to feel unworthy and it will affect your confidence.

In this situation it’s best to speak to them to tell them how you feel. If they don’t care or can’t change then it may be time to part ways.

Don’t let toxic friends ruin your life. Have the courage to end toxic friendships and instead choose to spend time with real friends who accept and respect you.