 Hi everyone, welcome back to our channel. Before we begin this video, we at Psych2Go would like to give you a huge thank you for all the love and support. Now, let's continue with the video. We all have people in our lives who give us a hard time sometimes. Maybe it's because you disagree, don't get along, or simply dislike each other. However, difficult people aren't the same as toxic ones. A toxic person is a negative influence in your life who exploits you and drains your energy with their needless drama, leaving you emotionally exhausted. If you're not careful, a toxic relationship can rob you of all of your happiness, motivation, and self-esteem over time. To help you figure out if there's someone in your life who's toxic for you, here are six telltale signs of a toxic person. 1. They abuse you. Whether it's physically or emotionally, abusing another person in any way is never acceptable. No matter how often they say they'll change, it's always best to cut ties with someone once abuse starts to happen, especially if it's intentional. Based on a study by Moore and Kirkham, abusers will often wreak havoc on their victims' lives because the lower the victim's self-esteem, the more suggestible and easier to exploit they become. To find out if someone is abusive, especially when their actions are mistaken as good intentions or love, try watching our previous video titled 10 Red Flags of Abuse, linked in the description. 2. They're manipulative. They are compulsive liars who are incredibly charming. For example, they insist an incident didn't happen when it did, or they insist that they did or said something when they didn't. Have you ever met someone like this? If yes, do you often end up questioning your own sanity because they're so good at it? This is also known as gaslighting. They do so because it's an extremely devious way for them to get out of trouble. 3. They exploit you. Based on a 2015 study by Gross and others, showing toxic people compassion and sympathy only makes you a prime target for them to latch onto. They exploit your kindness and use your good nature against you. They pretend to care about you so they can use you. They look out for themselves and only have their best interest in mind, but will often demand that you prioritize them and attend to their needs. 4. They take things out on you. Toxic people often treat those around them like psychological punching bags. Whenever they're faced with a problem, they tend to deal with it by taking it out on others and projecting their negative feelings on someone else. For example, they put you down by treating you with hurtful sarcasm and thinly veiled judgment so that they feel better about themselves. A toxic person will prey on your insecurities and make you feel bad about yourself because as the saying goes, misery loves company. 5. They never compromise. Have you ever dealt with people who have an unhealthy desire to be right all the time and only want to do things their way? It can be exhausting just to be around them, isn't it? They may believe that they're right about everything and thus will often try to intimidate and control you into doing things their way. They refuse to hear you out or see things from your point of view and get upset with you when you don't follow their demands. This kind of toxic behavior can trap you in a vicious cycle of frustration and powerlessness against someone who simply can't be reasoned with. And finally, they always play the victim card. Toxic people enjoy claiming the role of the victim because they don't want to take responsibility and accountability for anything. To them, nothing is ever their fault. Whether it's something they do or fail to do, it's always someone else's fault. They have double standards. If they get mad, it's your fault for disappointing them. But if you get upset, it's your fault for having unreasonable expectations. In the end, while all of us can be problematic at times, there's a difference between being flawed and being toxic. Do any of these signs remind you of someone in your life? If so, what do you plan to do next? What other topics would you like to talk about? Let us know in the comments below. Remember, it's not your job to try and save or change them. Love yourself enough to spend the time or energy on what makes you happy. Don't forget to share this video with someone who might benefit from it. Be sure to like this video and subscribe to Psych2Go for more helpful content like this. And as always, thanks for watching.