Toxic people can infiltrate and affect your life in ways you didn’t initially notice and never expected. Whether draining your energy, chipping away your confidence, or pulling you into their drama, their behavior can take a serious toll. Here are 13 things that happen when you surround yourself with the wrong crew.
1. Your Self-Esteem Takes a Hit
Toxic people are known for tearing others down through snide comments, backhanded compliments, or constant criticism. You might start believing their negativity after being around them for a while, and your confidence and self-worth will plummet.
2. You Constantly Feel Drained
Ever leave a conversation with someone feeling like your energy’s been sucked right out of you? Toxic people are emotionally draining. Whether it’s their constant complaining, neediness, or drama, you’ll often feel exhausted after spending time with them.
3. You Start to Question Your Reality
Toxic people have a way of twisting situations to make themselves look innocent, and you like the bad guy. This is called gaslighting. Over time, you might doubt your memories or feelings because they manipulate the truth to make you feel crazy.
4. You Adopt Their Contagious Negativity
Toxic people live in a world of constant negativity. After a while, their pessimism starts to rub off on you. You might catch yourself complaining more, seeing the downside in everything, or feeling more down overall, even if you weren’t that way.
5. Your Boundaries Get Constantly Pushed
Toxic people don’t care about your boundaries. They’ll ignore or steamroll right over them, whether dominating your time, pushing you to do things you don’t want to, or dismissing your needs. The longer you let it slide, the harder it becomes to stand your ground.
6. You Start Feeling Isolated
Sometimes, toxic people work to cut you off from other important relationships in your life. They might subtly (or not so subtly) make you feel like no one else understands you, or they’ll cause drama to distance you from friends and family. Soon, you might feel like they’re the only ones you can rely on—except they’re the ones making you feel that way.
7. You Get Caught in Never-Ending Drama
Toxic people love drama—it’s like their life’s fuel. Even if you try to stay out of it, they’ll find a way to pull you in. Whether it’s stirring up conflict, spreading gossip, or blowing small things out of proportion, you end up surrounded by stress you never asked for.
8. You Feel Unheard and Invalidated
Toxic people often don’t listen to what you have to say—or worse, they’ll make you feel like opinions or feelings are completely wrong or don’t matter. Over time, you might start keeping your thoughts to yourself, thinking, “What’s the point?”
9. You Lose Sight of Who You Are
When you’re around toxic people, getting lost in their demands and opinions is easy. They often impose their agenda on you, making it hard to stay true to your values or even remember what you want for yourself. Over time, you might feel like you’re living for them, not yourself.
10. Your Stress Levels Skyrocket
Constantly navigating toxic behavior is stressful. Whether it’s manipulation, guilt-tripping, or passive-aggressive comments, the mental and emotional load can leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed, which might even start affecting your physical health.
11. Your Relationships with Others Suffer
Toxic people don’t just affect your relationship with them—they can also damage your relationships with others. If you’re constantly stressed or emotionally drained, you might snap at friends or become more withdrawn, which can strain those connections.
12. You Begin to Doubt Your Decisions
Toxic people love to undermine your confidence. They’ll criticize your choices or subtly make you feel like you’re always doing something wrong. Before long, you might second-guess every decision you make, even the ones you used to feel sure about.
13. You Start to Feel Trapped
One of the hardest things about being around toxic people is the feeling of being stuck. They might make you feel like you can’t leave the relationship, whether it’s through guilt, manipulation, or creating a sense of dependence. Over time, you might feel like there’s no way out, even if you know you deserve better deep down.