Recognizing the Red Flags and Warning Signs of a Toxic Friendship: Part I

Red flags are used to warn us of impending danger and when we encounter them we know to run for cover. Although our potential friends don't walk around waving red flags, they often exhibit questionable behaviors and actions that are the red flags for their toxic behaviors. Unfortunately many people often ignore the warning signs and proceed with cultivating a potentially toxic friendship. After all, who enters a new friendship thinking it will be a toxic one? Probably not a whole lot of people, however; there is a small but wise group of folks that make it their priority to focus on the questionable behaviors and actions of a new friend.

Those people are what I like to call "toxic friendship survivors". They know the consequences of ignoring the red flags. They were once infected by the poison of a toxic friend but somehow managed to eliminate the toxicity from their life. That's not always easy to do, especially if you have a close bond with your toxic friend. Toxic friendship survivors recognize and acknowledge the red flags that toxic friends camouflage with their subtle acts of kindness and misrepresentations. They know that when a new friend exhibits a questionable behavior or action, it's a sign to reevaluate the friendship immediately! Toxic friendship survivors don't wait around to see if their new friend is going to stop or change the questionable behaviors. They do not waste valuable time and energy trying to figure out ways to change their own behavior to accommodate the wants and needs of the new friend. They pay close attention to the red flags and most importantly, they do not let their feeling and emotions for the new friend impede their efforts to think rationally about the situation.