Hey Gen X Lady, you haven’t gotten to this point in your life without someone toxic in your orbit.
There is no doubt that toxic people can change the entire atmosphere within a group. When someone has been identified as that person, the minute they walk into the room, you can feel the energy shift, literally.
Toxic people impact us in different ways. Sometimes it feels like a slowly deflating balloon, while other times it feels as though the balloon is at max capacity so you are just holding your ears, scrunching your shoulders and waiting for it to pop.
Regardless of your personal reaction to these encounters, toxic people can have a tremendous impact on our own emotional well-being and health, in both the short and long-term if you let them.
There are so many layers to toxic people that we felt compelled to tackle this topic in a two-part series. In this episode, part one of the series, we’ll address the dangers that toxic people can inflict on our well-being and also outline the different types of toxic people so you can be on the lookout and learn out to steer clear.
Today we’re taking a look at seven different types of toxic people so that you can become aware of who is in your world and how they may be impacting your life.
Struggling with navigating toxic people in your life, contact Jackie at jackie@therestingmind.com to schedule a free discovery call.
#1. The Dark Cloud:
This is the person who views every day as dark and stormy.
#2. The Runaway Train:
This person hijacks every conversation so they can talk about their own experiences.
#3. The Ladder:
Different than the Runaway Train, who just wants to be the center of every conversation, The Ladder wants to make sure they one-up you all the time.
#4. Gretchen Green:
Gretchen covers up her lack of self-worth with the tiny, passive-aggressive jabs she throws at you. Many times they are so subtle, you wonder if she really meant it the way it sounded.
#5. The Leech:
The Leech leans on you with their emotional hardships. Whether it’s about their career or their marriage, you have become their emotional sponge.
#6. The Gossip Girl:
This is the person that needs to be in the middle of everything that’s going on, even events that don’t involve them.
#7. One-Sided Winnie.
You know Winnie, she’s the one that’s always asking for a favor but conveniently never returns the favor.
Toxic people wreak havoc on your brain in three ways:
#1. Lowers your Energy Level
#2. Monkey See, Monkey Do (Mirror Neurons)
#3. Reinforces Negative Inner Dialogue
SUMMARY:
Engaging with toxic people for long periods of time can change your brain, even enough that you begin to take on some toxic behaviors yourself.
Extracting yourself from situations where toxic people are present is not only important for your short-term mental health but imperative for your long-term well-being.
Next week, we are going even deeper around the toxic people conversation - we’ll be tackling how to manage toxic people and challenging your thinking around them. Toxic people aren’t going anywhere, but we’re going to give you the tools to deal with them.
RESOURCES:
Mirror Neurons
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