Removing Toxic Family and Friends From Your Life

Everyone will have to deal with toxic people in their lives at some point. When that person is a family member or a friend, distancing yourself can feel overwhelming. It's important to establish some boundaries, and you're going to need to decide what behaviors you'll no longer tolerate. If it feels safe enough, tell them that you need some space and distance from them. Keep this conversation concise. The more that you explain yourself and the longer you talk, the likelier you are to say something that's going to set them off. You can gradually distance yourself by slowly reducing interactions. You can do what's called gray-rocking, which is where you keep interactions brief and uninteresting, and you definitely want to avoid giving any personal details. But if you decide to completely cut off communication, you may want to think about blocking their number, social media feeds, and emails. Now, it's important that you stay strong and consistent in your messaging. Abusive people will always try to manipulate you back into their lives. They're comfortable with the relationship the way that it was, and pulling away only removes any control that they felt they had over you. Distancing yourself from toxic people doesn't mean that you don't care.

It just means that you care about yourself more. Just remember, no matter what you're going through, you're not alone.