7 Ways to Deal With Negative Friendships

Growing up, we encountered so many negative people in our lives that we learn to move on from. But as a teenager, we tend to have more of a difficult time trying to get rid of the negative people. So here are sevenways you can learn to clear out your negative friendships and feel better in what you're doing.

Don't expect them to change.

I’ve always learned that most toxic friendships are only like that because they are insecure about themselves. They try to tear you down to their level of negativity. You can’t force negative people to change. They may say they can, or you might want to be the one who can help them become a better person, but this will always end in disappointment.

Most negative friendships are in a position where someone becomes unmotivated to put effort into the friendship. Normally it’s because this person doesn't feel the need to try anymore because you are already putting in all of the effort. Once you learn to let go and stop expecting them to change you can start to move on from this negative friendship.

Establish and maintain boundaries.

Negative friendships constantly make your efforts more difficult by making you work harder to keep them happy, making you compromise everything you do. This can be exhausting and very difficult for your friendship.

Give some serious thought on if you want to continue to have this person in your life. Set boundaries and keep your distance, if that’s what you choose. In the end, it makes the decision easier on you.

Don't be pulled into crises.

Negative friendships make it seem like they need you, making the friendship seem less one-sided. They always seem to get themselves into sticky situations, dragging you into it to make it seem like your business, keeping in mind this was the start of your negative friendship.

Drama is started in order to attract attention from those around you, keeping the “friendship” interesting. It’s like feeding your need to know about the drama in your friendship.

Focus on the solution.

Negative friendships can cause a lot of emotional trauma. You become miserable and angry, getting frustrated over everything. Sometimes you just need a break from the negativity in your friendship, but you know that won’t happen.

Once you start clearing out that negativity, life becomes more refreshing and easier to deal with. Find the right friends to keep in your life as well.

Own your difficulties and weaknesses.

In negative friendships, you tend to get called out for your flaws. Even if it’s as simple as biting your nails, it will be pointed out. But why would a friend do that to you? It’s because when someone else is insecure about themselves, they drag the people around down with them.

You learn that you should embrace your differences and move on, having someone around like that will only ruin your mood and make you feel bad about yourself.

Know they may resist.

Once you decide they no longer have a place in your life, they will try everything in their power to convince you that you are wrong.

Learning from this, you should ignore their continuous excuses and judgment and continue with your decision and framing what’s best for you.

Choose your battles carefully.

Conflict with people can lead to difficult decisions, so make sure you choose your battles carefully, because sometimes it’s important to really understand what’s important and what you believe is right for you.