10 Types of Toxic People and How to Spot Them

Do you have toxic people in your life?

I know quite a few of them. Just a few days ago, I met this friend who truly ruined my day with her miserable, judgmental  and negative talk. I shared a happy development with her and she poked holes in it and questioned my perception of reality which seriously made me doubt myself. A few minutes with her left me sick to my stomach. She certainly has toxic personality traits. People like her are energy sucking vampires who have the ability to ruin your peace of mind with their words, attitude and behaviour. These are the people who leave no opportunity to put you down and hold you back from moving ahead. They add negativity, stress, distress and disgust in your life.

“People inspire you, or they drain you—pick them wisely.” – Hans F. Hansen

People around us influence our views, mind-set, productivity, how we treat others, and even how we see ourselves. We cant distance ourselves from toxic people until we first know who they are. So, it is important that we assess the signs and personality traits of toxic people and try to stay away from them. This isn’t about judging people but about identifying the toxic types and finding out what we can do to protect ourselves from their use and abuse. Here is a list of 10 types of toxic people and how to spot them…

1. Victims

These people take no responsibility for their own life. They feel life is unfair and unjust, just for them and they are constantly cheated by it. They are great at pointing fingers at others and never accepting that they have made a mistake. It’s only a matter of time until they pull us into their own blame game, which is detrimental to our peace of mind.

2. Gossipers

These people are adept at twisting facts and distorting information. They want to be accepted and recognized and tearing down the lives of other people is their way to get the attention they want.

3. Jealous

These green-eyed monsters, believe in minimizing our strengths and accomplishments to make themselves feel better. They are envious of our success, good fortune, or positive attributes. They can even make us feel guilty for sharing our happiness.

4. The Leaches

These people expect us to support them always and tend to suck the life from us in the areas of time, finances and emotional support. However when we need their support, they aren’t available.

5. Liars

Whether they tell small lies or exaggerate, trusting them in a relationship can be exhausting. Their dishonesty can be draining and distracting.

6. Manipulators

They use other people to accomplish their goals. They are only focused on getting what they want and will go to any stretch to get it. They extract all the information and then throw it back at us when it benefits them.

7. Critics

They never have anything positive to say and criticize and judge all our actions and beliefs. Their negativity can be contagious and can seriously hit our self esteem.

8. Narcissist

This person thinks he or she is God’s gift to mankind and we can never measure up to their standards. So they look down upon us and do not compromise and lack compassion and empathy. They are willing to destroy everything and everyone around them, when they feel hurt or rejected.

9. Pretentious

These types only act as friends on comfortable terms. When we need their help and support they tend to do the vanishing act.

10. Dismissers

These people put us down, often subtly but sometimes straight-up, in order to make them feel better about themselves. Since they think they are the smartest person in the room, so, they see every conversation and person as a challenge that must be won over.

We all deserve to be happy and staying away from the drama of these toxic people is mandatory for our well being. Read more about Toxic People here.

Can you spot any toxic person in your circle of friends and relatives from this list? What are your experiences with toxic people?  How do you cope with their behavior?