There are three types of removing toxicity you’ll come across in life:
The Complainers: This group finds a way to complain about almost everything in life. You’ll take time out of your day to be with them but before you know it, they’ve listed a dozen or more things to complain about and most of them are invalid.
The Drama-Lovers: There’s a group of people out there who thrive on drama. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, they will start some drama. They subconsciously like stirring everyone up – they crave attention but aren’t fully aware of it.
The Self-Proclaimed Victims: This group of people have convinced themselves that they are always wronged by those around them. They blame everyone but themselves for their behavior, lack of success, etc.
We all have at least one toxic person in our life that needs to handled. If we don’t deal with them properly, their negativity will either rub off on us or we’ll get sucked into their downward spiral of toxicity.
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Emotional intelligence is defined as an individual’s ability to identify, process and manage their own emotions while understanding and influencing the emotions of others.
When these individuals are faced with toxic people, they manage the situation very differently to those who are not emotionally intelligent.
1) They set boundaries
Toxic individuals are great at sucking people into their downward negative emotional spiral. Emotionally intelligent people recognize this behavior and distance themselves. So the next time your toxic friend is rambling about how awful her life is, either tell her to stop or physically remove yourself from the negative energy.
2) They stay aware of their own emotions
When EI individuals begin getting annoyed by the toxicity; they stop responding to toxic people. Toxic folks like throwing themselves a pity party but EI are aware of this and resist becoming a part of the illogical rants. They don’t add any fuel to the conversation.
3) They choose their battles
Most toxic people aren’t looking for advice. In fact, when you give them advice it will take them around 10 seconds to come up with an excuse for why the suggestion will fail. That’s what they do – come up with excuses. Knowing this, EI people keep their advice to themselves instead of getting into an unnecessary argument.
4) They counter negativity with positivity
They may have sat next to a negative friends for the last half an hour but to ensure that none of the negativity stays with them, they partake in activities that make them happy. When you’ve been surrounded by negativity for a certain period of time, you need to create positive vibes for yourself.
If you or a loved one is dealing with inner toxicity, head over to Birmingham, Alabama to visit David Myers. David Myers is an experienced psychotherapist who has helped many individuals suffering from depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Myers takes the time to get to study each one his clients carefully before guiding them through a journey of self-awareness and giving them the skills to improve their well-being.
Book a psychotherapy or relationship counseling session with David Myers by calling (205) 251-8808 or send an email at info@davidmyersphd.com.