Stop Wasting Time on People Who Mean You No Good!

These toxic seven mean you no good. The universe loves diversity, as is obvious, if you take a closer look at the "human" factor and all its manifestations. There are so many different kinds of people we encounter on a daily basis – it’s a dizzying array. Some make it easy for us. They are friendly and noncommittal and have no surprises in store for us. Then there are the difficult, the obtuse and the annoying. This rough division, however, can be elaborated in a little more detail. You should be especially careful when dealing with people who fall into the "difficult" category, although they may not be difficult at first glance. In this article, we would like to introduce you to seven toxic stereotypes that you will unfortunately encounter again and again.

1. The insecure.

They are the ticking time bombs among our fellow human beings and can mutate into a massive problem: We know them colloquially as drama queens or prima donnas prone to hysteria, people with an extremely short supply of patience. They can be affable and charming, and the next moment they are throwing dishes, shouting wild insults or bursting into tears. At some point, every day with them begins to feel like walking on eggshells or thin ice. They truly make our lives hell with their mood swings and tantrums. What triggers this upset becomes increasingly trivial over time, while the intervals between their outbursts become shorter. No one should have to live and work under this constant verbal bombardment. It is never possible to predict when the next emotionally charged attack will occur. There is no remedy for such human insecurity factors. There is nothing that we, as their fellow human beings, can do differently or better to spare everyone involved these completely irrational reactions.

2. The chronically jealous.

Even if you only meet them in passing, the following applies: save yourself. Jealousy is a pathological affair that cannot be eradicated with rational arguments. Once the poison of these toxic thoughts has manifested itself in a person's imagination, no stone is left unturned in this relationship. According to studies, jealousy results from a great insecurity regarding the value of one's own person. This feeling of inferiority deceives us into thinking we do not deserve our partners and that they know this very well and see it in exactly the same way. It is therefore only logical, and this logic is the only one you’ll find in the context of jealousy, that the beloved partner will have a wandering eye. Jealousy is not considered a mental illness, although it has many parallels to it and plunges those affected into a similar hopeless dilemma. Living with such people is psychological torture in a continuous loop.

3. Major pessimists.

At least as exhausting as jealous people are the notorious pessimists. They have loaded the misery of the world onto their shoulders, see potential misfortune lurking in every situation and wander through life like a record with a skip, constantly spouting the same negative platitudes. The weather is always bad in their world, all people are criminals and fate has decided against them already, anyway. They complain and nag without ceasing and find at least one fly in the soup of even the most beautiful episodes of their existence. We cannot allow ourselves to care about such sourpusses and should avoid them as much as possible. Anyone who has to share a workplace or apartment, a neighborhood or a seat on the train with them over a longer period of time is in for a sad ride. Such people rob us of an enormous amount of energy, even if their apocalyptic monologues don't affect us personally.

4. Manipulative puppet masters.

Narcissists, psychopaths and the manipulators of everyday life are sinister people we should steer clear of as far as possible. They always have their ears to the ground in search of information that they can use against their fellow human beings. The weaknesses they discover in this way then serve them as a starting point for their diabolical activities. They feed their poisonous whispers into our ears slowly but surely, so that for a long time we might not even notice they’re manipulating us. They skillfully weave a spider web of closeness and distance, affection and emotional coldness, in which the weak and unsuspecting can easily get caught.

5. Gossips.

They love to gossip, mainly about other people and their misadventures, failures and misfortunes. Praise and recognition rarely come up in these conversations. What fascinates us so much about the misfortunes of others is clarified, at least to some extent, by evolutionary research. Those who exchange information, and preferably in real time, have a clear advantage in the event of a threat. So spreading news is not a bad thing in itself. However, this passion for gossip becomes questionable when it revolves exclusively around our fellow human beings, and not in a positive way. If you want to keep your peace of mind, it's better to avoid notorious gossips. They tend to twist other people's words, and before you know it, you're right in the crosshairs of destructive damage to your reputation.

6. Liars and swindlers.

It's pretty self-explanatory, but anyone who has an excessive penchant for untruthfulness shouldn't frequent our circles any more than absolutely necessary. Liars should always be treated with caution. They are absolutely not trustworthy and have usually mastered their imaginative craft beyond our defensive capabilities. If you catch someone fibbing over and over again, be on guard. Little fibs can quickly turn into a whopper that can have devastating consequences.

7. Self-absorbed egocentrics.

People who nominate themselves to be the center of the world should really be relegated to some remote spot somewhere. The best thing for them would be to rule as autocrats on a desert island, where they could indulge their need for superiority and their hedonistic penchant for dictatorship in epic proportions. Having to live with egoists is like handing over your human rights at the checkroom, and for a long time. The same applies to one's own opinion and free choice. Those who can avoid the self-absorbed egocentric should do so at all costs. They’re like a human tornado that mows down everything in its path in the interest of their personal goals. Collateral damage is nothing to them; they take it as part of the process.

Today’s Conclusion

Man is a wolf to another man. This well-known quotation from a Roman poet has been warning us more or less successfully for centuries not to place too much trust in our fellow human beings. Not all people we meet harbor good intentions. A pinch of caution has never hurt. Life experience teaches us this lesson over and over again, sometimes unfortunately in a painful way. If you have the luxury of choosing your environment, choose wisely. Remember the old saying of unknown origin, "Be kind to everyone, but for company choose only the best."