A healthy friendship should feel like a safe space where you can be yourself, share your inner thoughts and feelings, not feel worried about judgment, and overall feel lifted up rather than put down.
Friendships are complex dances that can end in tears and breakups. If some of your connections just don’t feel right anymore, ending it could be the last thing on your mind.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have ups, downs, and straight-up fights with your besties. At least some degree of conflict is inevitable, especially the closer you are to someone. If you’re addressing these conflicts constructively, you should expect the same level of respect and communication back.
Here are the 5 types of unhealthy friends you should get rid of immediately:
The Friend Who Never Reaches Out To You
You’re the one who always makes the call to hang out, and when your friend does answer your texts (which does not happen often), it always feels like they’re doing you a favor.
The Friend Who Judges You For Your Goals
Your friends should call you out when you’re making mistakes, but there’s a big difference between how you feel when your bestie is giving you solid advice, and how you feel when a pal is judging you and your dreams. Reality checks are often needed, but when the response to your big dream is “ew, why would you want to do that? you’ll know you deserve more thoughtful support.
The “I’m Just Being Honest” Friend
You are clingy in relationships, and they tell you not to be worried about your partner – shutting down your emotions when you try to talk about them. Your pal might be telling you things with grains of truth, but that’s never the full picture.
The Friend Who Doesn’t Respect Your Boundaries
If you have that one friend who always facetime you late at night even when you’ve told them you’re going to bed, they might not be respecting your boundaries. You may have to take the leap of communicating your boundaries to your friends first and enforcing them.
The Friend Who Gaslights You
If your friend constantly implies that everything’s your fault in a friendship, it might be time to call gaslighting what it is and bounce. Listen to their actions instead of their words if they’re treating you like crap while telling you how much they care about you.
