In today's world, where interaction with other people is of great importance, it is important to understand that some individuals can have a toxic effect on our lives. Toxic personalities are one of the major problems in interpersonal relationships that can significantly affect our mental and emotional health. In this article, we will consider the main features of toxic individuals, their impact on others and ways to effectively manage such relationships.
Traits of toxic persons:
1. Negativity: Toxic personalities tend to focus on the negative aspects of life. They spread pessimism and negative mood to others.
2. Manipulativeness: Toxic people can use manipulation to achieve their goals. They may appear friendly, but actually use others.
3. Envy: Toxic individuals may feel envious of others' achievements and try to lower their self-esteem.
4. Criticism:They often criticize others, trivializing their achievements and increasing their sense of self-importance. Such behavior is a desire to assert oneself at the expense of the interlocutor, close or weaker. Criticism can relate to your appearance, choice of environment, profession or even lifestyle, your emotional state "why are you crying?", "You should be strong, you're a man!" etc.
5. Control: Toxic personalities may try to control others, limiting their freedom of choice and action. This control can extend from one area of life to the control of your entire life, all areas, your entire personality.
The influence of toxic persons:
Interaction with toxic personalities can lead to serious consequences for our emotional, psychological and social situation:
На зйомках "Токсичне оточення" Липень 2023
1. Loss of confidence: Constant criticism and negative influence can lead to low self-esteem and self-confidence. Some people begin to "believe" in the assessment of a toxic person and take his words for objectivity.
2. Emotional exhaustion: Interacting with toxic personalities can deplete our emotional reserves and lead to stress and depression, because a toxic person's goal is to provoke your emotions. If your emotion is there (pity, anger, sadness, etc.) and the toxic person received them, she got her way.
3. Restrictions on personal freedom: Toxic personalities may try to control our actions and decisions, limiting our freedom of choice. There is an interesting fact, even in space and at a distance, toxic people try to be closer, try to "enter" the intimate zone of the interlocutor. You ask why? A person's intimate zone is his own, he has a right to it, a person has his own rules regarding it (Who can be touched and who can't. Who can be held by the hand or come closer, and who can't). A toxic person unconsciously begins to "encroach" on the personal life of the interlocutor, and it is easiest for him to start doing this - by controlling the physical space of the victim.
4. Losing a positive outlook on life: The negative mindset of toxic individuals can affect our perception of the world and lead to a loss of joy in life.
Strategies for managing toxic personalities from a non-verbal communication perspective:
1. Eye to eye. Through eye contact, we exchange energy, connect and communicate. A toxic person does not carry "healthy contact", therefore, the first thing to do is to refrain from eye contact. This will not say that you are not confident in yourself, but on the contrary, for you, it is about taking care of yourself.
2. Body position. A toxic person will try to be closer to you so that he can more easily influence your personality. It is necessary to turn your body so that you stand sideways to the person, that is, to avoid direct body-to-body contact, head to head, it is necessary to stand sideways. One foot should be to keep the distance between you, and the other to look towards the exit.
3. We look at the clock. We show by our appearance that "I am in a hurry." We do not ask clarifying questions, but only thank you for the meeting and the body of the body is headed for the exit.