 An insidious force that can poison our well-being and sabotage our growth. This force, friends, is none other than toxic friendships. Here are five ways to recognize a potentially toxic friend. If you feel you might be a toxic friend, perhaps this video is also a good start for change. They lack empathy. This one almost goes without saying, and apparent lack of empathy is a major red flag that you shouldn't continue a friendship with someone. Empathy involves understanding and sharing the emotions of another person. In a healthy relationship, empathy plays a crucial role in providing emotional support. When someone lacks empathy, they may dismiss or invalidate their friend's feelings, which can leave a person feeling unheard, invalidated, and emotionally isolated. Over time, this can negatively impact their mental well-being. The critical question is, how do you identify a lack of empathy from someone when it's not as obvious? They close attention to how they react and behave when you need their support. Do they actively listen to you? Do they offer encouragement or support, or harshly criticize you instead? Look to see if they demonstrate low empathy regarding the most basic things like listening or encouraging you. Imagine how they would act when you really need them. Never ignore how dehumanizing and invalidating it feels when your friend or friends dismiss your feelings. Drama follows them. I swear I don't love the drama. It loves me. We've all known this type of person all too well. Okay, I'll stop with the Taylor Swift references, but who else is going to the Ares tour? Jokes aside, someone who always seems to be involved in some type of drama straight out of a cheesy Netflix romcom is possibly a toxic friend. The reason? Everyone encounters drama in their life. It's normal. However, when someone is constantly at the center of dramatic situations without taking any responsibility for their part in it, then that's a red flag. This demonstrates a lack of personal accountability and manipulative behavior, especially if they're always the victim. Professor and researcher Scott Frankowski commented on Psychology Today. Those who always feel they're the victim also tend to use cold and calculating manipulation to achieve their goals. The need for drama is also an intention seeking behavior that signals a deep need for the approval and validation of others. If this toxic trait reminds you of someone, you may need to re-evaluate your friendship with them. They're unreliable or inconsistent. This trait is characterized by a friend who's constantly breaking appointments and meet-ups with you, only showing up when they need something and never keeping their promises. This is a clear sign that your friend doesn't value you or your relationship, and worse, this is probably a consistent pattern in all of their relationships. In a situation like this, it's important to assess whether it's a clear pattern of disrespect or an honest oversight on their end. If you've addressed the issue with your friend in the past and they haven't rectified their behavior, then they're exhibiting a blatant disregard for you as a person. In an article for Psychology Today, psychotherapist Sean Grover explains that the type of friends a person chooses usually mirrors how they feel about themselves. If you don't value yourself, your friends won't either. They won't think twice about standing you up, phoning in last minute, cancellations or forgetting about you entirely. Never compromise your standards and expectations. You deserve the exact same effort and energy you're putting into the relationship. You can try communicating how you feel with your friend, but if they continue the same behavior, then you shouldn't continue a friendship with them. Green with envy. A friend with this trait can either be subtle or direct with their feelings of envy. Friends can come in the form of backhanded compliments or sarcastic remarks under their breath, or even saying negative things behind your back. First, let's clarify the difference between envy and jealousy. According to Professor Barrett Bregard, PhD, envy is resentment towards someone because of what they have, such as perceived success or advantages. Jealousy surfaces when there is worry or fear that someone else is attempting to take something that is yours or that you believe rightly belongs to you, whether it's true or not. Now back to this toxic trait. You will notice that an envious friend will not express excitement or happiness at your success when you tell them about it. This is evident through their words or even through their body language. However, an envious friend will show signs of excitement or happiness when you tell them or when they hear that something bad happens to you, which again could be evident through verbal or nonverbal cues. Another obvious example is when your friend or friends are overly critical of you, especially when you've accomplished something or even attempt to downplay or diminish your success. Some examples include saying that your accomplishment was easy to earn or that you merely got lucky. A friend who can't simply offer words of encouragement and support when you share your accomplishments with them is clearly toxic, and you should take note of that. A friend who has a complete disregard for your boundaries is not only disrespectful to you, but to the trust and integrity of the entire relationship. If you've set clear boundaries and discussed them with your friend, and they continue to dismiss this by crossing the line over and over again, consider this a huge red flag. For example, if you've explained that their inappropriate jokes or comments upset or embarrass you, and they ignore this, they clearly don't respect you enough to take your concerns seriously. If you've noticed that your friends are incapable of respecting the clear boundaries you've set and dismiss your feelings entirely, then it's time to cut them loose. However, if you haven't actually discussed your feelings with them and expressed your boundaries, then it's important you do that first before labeling them a bad friend.