 Toxic behaviors come in all shapes and forms. Academic psychology journal, Violence and Victims states that nearly 50% of people have experienced psychological aggression in their relationships, many of which occur in working environments. Can you think of some instances in your life? Have you maybe been the perpetrator? Toxic behaviors are unproductive and we all engage in some of these behaviors from time to time, but many of us are unwilling to admit it. So how can you be more aware of your unhelpful behaviors? How can you identify them in others? In this video, we will be exploring seven types of these behaviors. Stonewalling. Perhaps you've been a victim of the silent treatment before. You've been ignored by someone in your life for a period of time, but you don't always know why. This tactic is called stonewalling. Psych-Central states that this can be anything from someone walking away from you after an argument and not speaking to you for days on end to someone deliberately shutting down and refusing to respond during a confrontation. This is a type of punishment where the problems at hand are not resolved. Better help advises that you should take a step back from an argument and continue it when both parties are in a better headspace. Whether you're stonewalling or being stonewalled, approaching a conflict grounded and relaxed may help alleviate tension and allow everyone to organize their thoughts. More serious cases may need more serious help, which can be done with a relationship counselor. Isolating. Isolating can be a rather hidden form of toxic behavior. You may not realize that it's been happening to you until you notice that your social circle has diminished. This is usually the case when a romantic partner tries to get you away from other people in your life. They may guilt trip you for trying to go out or say that your friends are bad influences. Hope Gillette from Psych-Central explains that your partner may somehow always come down with an illness or have some other event planned at the same time you have plans with other people. They guilt trip you for seemingly prioritizing other people, causing you to withdraw from them over time slowly. Lacking self-awareness. Lacking self-awareness creates problems across the board. Occupational health psychologist Dr. Aaron Ito states that people lacking in this area do not take accountability for their actions because they can't understand that they're doing anything wrong. People short in this field may say and do things that are unacceptable and self-sabotaging in nature, but have no idea that their behaviors are harmful to themselves and others. When dealing with someone like this, Dr. Ito encourages setting boundaries and enforcing them to prevent them from overstepping. Boundary violations. Boundaries are extremely important for your well-being. Being able to state what you are and are not comfortable with and upholding those boundaries protects you. People that violate your boundaries can damage your mental health by making you feel powerless. Licensed professional counselor Stephanie Kamins states that boundary violations can look like people disrespecting your time, getting too close to you physically, looking through personal items or plain and simply ignoring every time you say no. While these are all incredibly disrespectful, they can make you feel that your time is not your own or that your wants and needs are not important. To protect yourself, it's important to be firm when you set your limits and to be able to walk away when they're disrespected. Gaslighting. We rely a lot on our perceptions and thoughts and memories. However, gaslighters work to use these against us. Relationship therapist Dr. Elizabeth Frederick describes this as a manipulation tactic to get you to doubt your reality. Gaslighting comes in multiple forms, but all revolves around getting you to put your trust in the manipulator and not in yourself. They'll say that you misremembered things or you're making something up. Anything is possible except your experience. They make it clear that they know what's happening so you rely on them to make your decisions for you. Blaming. Accountability is a healthy skill. Being able to admit when you're wrong and taking steps to fix the situation is a great sign in a person. Blaming, on the other hand, diverts attention away from you and onto something else. People that use this tactic often will seem to never truly be wrong in a situation. It's always someone else's fault that something didn't go as planned. Mind Body Green explains how blamers will do whatever it takes to avoid responsibility. This can be a self-sabotaging behavior that many are unaware they're doing. Manipulation. Manipulation is one of the broadest forms of toxic behavior, as it can take on many different shapes. According to relationship therapist, Dr. Elizabeth Frederick, manipulation is a series of tactics that uses your values and emotions against you. This can look like other types of toxic behaviors like love bombing, where a person in your life will shower you with gifts and affection in order to get you to act a certain way. In other cases, they may create lose-lose scenarios whenever you try to make a decision. There are endless ways a person can manipulate you, but in the end, they all boil down to using your emotions and values to control you. BetterHelp advises boundary setting, self-care, and seeking help from a professional. Most importantly, you shouldn't blame yourself for how others treat you. There are endless amounts of toxic behaviors to be aware of in other people, but also ourselves. Nobody is perfect and sometimes we can resort to unhealthy behaviors. It's important to acknowledge this and work on self-improvement, which may involve the help of a mental health professional. When dealing with toxic people, it's important to address these behaviors with the person if they're willing to or know when to move on. Relationships of any kind can be difficult, but making hard decisions can be the best for your well-being. Thank you for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, please give it a like and share it with someone who you think will benefit from it. Let us know your thoughts on it in the comment section down below. Remember to subscribe to Psych2Go to keep up with our uploads.