 Anyone's behavior can be toxic. From parents, family members, and partners, to bosses, coworkers, and friends, recognizing toxic people and knowing how to separate yourself from them is an essential skill that can help you filter out the negative energy you don't need, and instead focus on yourself. Here are some signs it might be time to separate yourself from those toxic people in your life. And how? What is a toxic person? A toxic person is someone who displays self-centered, manipulative, and controlling behavior. They can often be hard to communicate with. This can go beyond surface level behavior and deeper into personal struggles or traumas they have faced that led them down this path. According to PsychCentral, toxic behaviors may manifest from underlying feelings of low self-esteem and mental health conditions such as narcissistic personality disorder, childhood trauma, or other deeply rooted personal issues. Walking on eggshells. When you spend time with someone, you should be able to be yourself and freely enjoy their company without having to think twice about what you say or do. If you find the need to measure their mood on the moodometer, quantify their negativity for the day, and formulate a procedure for how careful you have to be with them today just so they won't blow up on you, and take that as a huge sign that this person could be toxic. A regular conversation with them shouldn't feel like a mad science lab experiment. Halthein explains that when you're around a toxic person, you worry that by bringing up problems, you'll provoke extreme tension. So you become conflict avoidant and to keep any issues to yourself. It's not worth feeling like you have to hold your breath in order to keep this person from lashing out at you. Stonewalling. Does this sound familiar? Every time you get into a fight, they close off and turn away. They dismiss your feelings and make you feel accountable for their issues. Stonewalling is when a person refuses to cooperate or communicate with their partner to resolve issues. They shut down and withdraw from the conversation. It may even feel like they're building up a wall between themselves and you. Almost an extreme silent treatment. Sound familiar? People can stonewall in relationships for a variety of difficult reasons. According to the Godham Institute, it can be in a discussion or argument, the listener withdraws from the interaction shutting down and closing themselves off from the speaker because they're feeling overwhelmed or psychologically flooded. Metaphorically speaking, they build a wall between them and their partner. Stonewalling is an unhealthy and ineffective form of communication as there's not much communication happening at all and has a destructive effect on any relationship. Inconsistency. Toxic people may be overjoyed by the littlest of things going their way and then irritated the next minute when something goes wrong. They can even push these feelings onto you, making you feel responsible for their drastic emotions or wondering why you don't share their perspective. Psychiatrist and author Abigail Brenner, MD, explains in an article with Psychology Today that toxic people may change their perspective, attitude and behavior depending on what they feel they need to accomplish or what they wanna have happen. It's difficult to know how they may react to a situation due to their unpredictable behavior. You feel guilty. Do you feel uncomfortable in focusing on yourself? Does this person make you feel like you don't do enough or are undeserving of taking a break that you really need? Toxic people put down their victims when the attention is not on them or their needs anymore. As Psychology Today explains, they're not caring, supportive or interested in what's important to you. In fact, the good things that happen to you move the attention away from them and thwart them from focusing on their own goals. If someone is keeping you from taking care of yourself or focusing on your needs, it's time to consider walking away from them. Problems, but no solutions, ever. Another thing toxic people do is that they tend to focus on the negative side of things rather than what's in their control. This also goes for how they handle disagreements. A toxic person often fears being called out for their unwarranted behavior and puts a tough front to prevent taking accountability for their actions. They're pessimistic and degrading, often finding someone to blame when a situation is undesirable. As Forbes explains, these types of toxic people actively push away any personal responsibility by making every speed bump they encounter into an uncrossable mountain. They don't see tough times as opportunities to learn and grow from. Instead, they see them as an out. If this person chooses to not address any situation that concerns you, it's a sign that they aren't prioritizing you in the right way. So now you're aware of potential signs of a toxic person, but you may be wondering, well, what do I do now? Coming up with an effective strategy to protect yourself from a toxic person is crucial for your own safety and well-being. If you have experienced or feel like you're in physical danger, it may be time to involve authorities. You can reach out to a reliable center listed in the description below. Besides serious emergency situations, let's break down a few options to consider when withdrawing yourself from a generally toxic person. Number one, talk to them about your concerns. If this relationship is very important to you, it might be worth it to have them at least hear your side based on what you've been observing. Some people may also be experiencing underlying mental health conditions that could be a factor for their more toxic behavior. But in any case, this might be a good start to encourage them to seek professional help based on if they are generally open to this, you can gauge if it makes sense to hold on and work through the issue with them. Number two, limit your time around them. Although it would be best to separate yourself from a toxic person at the earliest, there may be more factors at play where you can't exactly avoid them, such as a coworker or co-parent. As shared by Healthline, if you're dealing with someone who picks fights with you or repeatedly pushes your boundaries, consider scaling back the amount of time you spend with them. Keep the time you spend with this person to a minimum, avoid frequent contact and deal with them only as and when necessary. Three, set boundaries. You need to protect your space, both physical and mental. Recognize what it is you will not tolerate from anyone. Draw the lines and make sure that your boundaries are made clear to this person. It can be hard to develop boundaries for those that are concerned with hurting others' feelings while overlooking their own needs. Researchers at Berkeley call this the empathy trap. However, this is an important life skill that often makes it clear who can show you the respect you deserve. Berkeley explains, in successful adult relationships, the flow of empathy is reciprocal. Partners share power equally and move back and forth between giving and receiving. When one partner does more of the giving, however, resentment is likely to build. So to help put feelings aside, it's useful to come up with a strategy for how you will address the situation where anyone compromises your boundaries. And number four, walk away. If things are only worsening and it seems like this is just a never-ending vicious cycle, it may be time to call it quits and stop, drop and roll out of there. Have one contact you can trust and develop a plan to remove yourself from this person while you move to a safer place. For any serious concerns related to mental health and trauma, please see a licensed professional. Dealing with a toxic person can feel like a long-drawn battle and you're most likely tired after all the negative energy. Walk away and don't look back. It's time to get your rest. Take good care of yourself and do what you need to do to focus on your needs. Toxic people can be tough to get through too, but identifying them and knowing how to go about dealing with toxic behavior is essential so you don't get more drained than you already are. We hope you found this video helpful. Remember to set those boundaries, be firm and do your best to keep distance between yourself and these people for your own wellbeing. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to hit the like button, comment below and subscribe to Psych2Go for more content. Thanks so much for watching.