What About Your Friends: Taking a Deeper Look At The People We Are Surrounded By.
A friend is defined as a person whom one knows and and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.
So what does that look like? A friend is honest, accepting, low maintenance, loyal, respectful, and trustworthy.
If a person posesess those qualities in your life they exemplify the definition of a friend. Personally speaking I like low maintenance friendships. I like relationships that doesn't require much work. I don't like making adjustments or tip toeing around when I’m in the company of my friends. I want to be myself and let my hair down. I don't want to feel like I'm “ working”. Friendships are suppose to be fun, enjoying and healthy.
These are the signs of a draining or toxic relationship:
you are constantly worried about their issues,
you crave alone time,
you’re closed, you’re not as open with your friend as you use to be
you’re physically exhausted
your relationship is overwhelming and interfering with other areas in your life.
Oprah. com has an helpful article on Friendship Quiz: Are you a good friend or a bad friend? The quiz allows you to assess the type of friend you are.
If you are in a draining or toxic relationship these are ways to get out:
Fade them out- don't text or call them frequently
Delete or block them on social media or other outlets they may have in contact with you.
Get help by talking to other mutual friends or a counselor to help you to deal with the effects of the relationship.
A toxic relationship can put a toll on you and it can affect you personally. If you're in a situation like that my advice is to re-examine, step back, and speak up about it. It's not good to keep your feelings hidden. Hopefully your honesty will change the individual for the better. This will become a win-win situation, because you will become liberated, and you've helped someone else. I would like to leave you with one of my favorite songs of all times by TLC , “ What About Your Friends.”
I hope this was helpful, please feel free to share your thoughts about this topic in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by. Much blessings to you all. 💜🤎