Do You Have a Toxic Friend?

No relationship is perfect, but some tend to drive us up the wall. When certain personalities combine to form a friendship, the results can be kismet or chaos. When a relationship begins to go sour, the culprit is often a toxic character between the two. It might not be one person's fault, but sometimes knowing a personality can help us identify those who are poisoning our lives.

A "toxic friend" is defined as a friend who contaminates our social life with destructive or negative behavior. The top 8 toxic friend profiles can be found below, along with ways to handle each one.

1. The Bubble-Burster
This friend is always there with bad news to counter any good news you might have. Getting married? She happens to have the average national divorce rates memorized. This friend never fails to deliver a rain cloud on your sunny day. Also known as Debbie Downer or The Wet Blanket. This friend is unnecessary in all situations, but if immediate disposal is not an option, try limiting conversations with her, especially where news-sharing is concerned. Constantly thinking that she might be happy for you this time is pointless. Keep your happy news to yourself when she's around and it will magically stay happy.

2. The One-Upper
This friend likes to fancy herself well-rounded or an overachiever, but she mostly lives to make others feel inferior. Mention an upcoming trip to Aspen, and you'll soon learn about her family cabin there, not to mention her countless medals and trophies for skiing. The best thing to do with people like this is ignore them. They crave approval, expecting people to envy them, and nothing will slow their nauseating self-congratulations like ambivalence. No matter how impressive
their stories are, keep reactions minimal and they'll stop finding the thrill in overshadowing you.