Here’s Why It’s So Hard to Distance Yourself from a Toxic Friend

Not all toxic friendships are in-your-face bully situations, yet they all leave you with a sick feeling in your stomach. Sometimes even when the friendship doesn’t make you happy you still have a hard time distancing yourself from the person. Fully cutting ties with a toxic friend seems impossible even if it’s necessary, writes the “Cosmopolitan UK” magazine.

The magazine teamed up with a psychologist to explain the reasoning behind the phenomena.

Loneliness is Scary

Your fear of being alone may push you to keep the friend around even if they bring only negative things in your life. You may be scared of all the free time that you will have on your hands once you cut ties, yet this gives an opportunity to reach new people and develop new interests. There’s no need to depend on someone so much especially when you can find a new friend who can treat you far better.

When they’re Good, They’re the Best

Manipulation can be hard to spot especially if it’s occasionally fun to hang out with that person. You need to think about whether those occasional moments are actually worth all the discomfort this person brings into your life. Manipulative people always find ways to try to balance out their horrible acts with some positive interactions, yet while looking at the bigger picture it’s clear that you can’t compare the two.

The Two of You Go Way Back

Sentimental memories may make it seem to you that your friendship is simply irreplaceable. If the toxic person in your life is a childhood friend you will constantly think of all the things you’ve shared together throughout your life. The person may even know your siblings and parents. This all makes it all way too jarring. It’s difficult, yet you should keep in mind that selective nice memories are never a good enough reason to keep the person around.