(IMPORTANT) How to Save Yourself from Toxic People

[Xaanka]

You're in the best of moods. Your day is going great. Suddenly, you feel sapped of energy and your spirits are down in the dumps. Why? You might have just encountered someone who has a bad attitude, one that's cast a spell over your mood. Learning to identify and avoid these types of toxic personalities can help you stay positive. Learn to take control of your own life.

Part 1 of 3: Recognizing Toxic People
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1Recognize the basic traits of toxic people. We all have our down days. However, when it comes to toxic people, the blues can be constant. If someone is just plain negative more than a few days a week, you might be dealing with a toxic personality. Keep an eye out for the following toxic traits:

* Nervous energy
* Angry sadness
* Constant complaining
* Clinginess
* Criticism
* Negative or cynical worldview


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2Pay more attention to the energy of the people around you.If you have a friendly outlook, sometimes it can be hard to recognize toxic people in your life. But learning to pick up on someone's energy can help you to identify negativity more easily.

* Have you ever walked into a store and been greeted by enthusiastic workers? It's a nice experience that makes you much more willing to return. Being around negative people is like walking into a store where the mood is sour, the assistants are barely able to mumble a hello. You pick up on it immediately.

* Pay attention to body language and tone of voice. Listen to the sounds made, more than what people actually say. You can hear it when someone is just going through the motions. How do people relate to you? What do they seem to be thinking when they speak?

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3Watch for people who are regularly angry. Anger, shouting, and negative criticism is a major sign of a toxic personality. Angry people sometimes need a lot of help, but it's not your job to be their punching bag. Staying around a person like this will cause you to become angry too. Don't allow yourself to be caught up in that negativity.

* Anyone who raises their voice regularly is probably an angry person. People who have control over their emotions don't usually feel the need to shout.

* Watch out for the quiet simmering anger as well. Some people won't say much, but will use poor body language and bottle it up instead. These people may lash out at strange times, when anger doesn't seem called for.

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4Watch out for people with a negative worldview. Do you know someone who finds the darkness in everything? Misery loves company, so people with this type of personality trait will often want to group together and compete about their own misery. They'll try to drag you in.

* People with very negative worldview will often be competitive about their misery, trying to outdo other people's sadness. These people often see the mistakes of others as major failures, and struggle to forgive.

*Watch out for people who constantly, even gleefully, talk about their failures and sadness. Anyone who criticizes the failures of others, or seems overly cynical might have this toxic personality.


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5Watch out for people who constantly seek attention. Insecure people are unable to create their own sense of self-worth, and often cling on to others to get it. They want your attention and need to be at the center of everything. This constant need to be heard can wear you down.

* Watch Facebook and other social networking for signs of this personality. Humble-brags and obsessive posting might be a sign of this toxic personality.

* These kinds of people often "one-up" everyone around them, or always swing conversation back to something about them.


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6Watch out for people who gossip. Instead of supporting others, gossips feed on envy. And gossip can be thrilling in some cases, making you feel close with your fellow gossipers, making it difficult to avoid. If you've ever gotten caught up in gossip, you're not alone.

*Gossipers constantly compare themselves to others, which is a good way to set yourself up for disappointment and failure. Don't worry about your neighbors, worry about your own backyard.


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7Watch out for people who try to scare other people. For this person, everything is scary. This person's anxiety about the world can be contagious. Fear gives these people some sense of safety, and communicating that fear gives them a sense of purpose. It gives you a real downer.

* Watch out for "downers" who always find the darkness in everything. If you're trying to talk about your exciting vacation you've got coming up, this person will prattle on about the deadly diseases you can catch on airplanes, and the various dangers of travel.