Are you striving to improve your mental health? Then, you need to avoid certain kinds of people or cut them out of your life completely for a better mental health.
These types of people only contribute negatively to our lives and may interfere with our personal development and growth.
Building stronger and better mental health may require making changes in our lives, like engaging in healthy behaviours and activities or cutting out things that may not be helpful.
When choosing friends, having our mental well-being at the forefront is important. This is because the people we spend most of our time with can have a huge influence on our lives. Good friends can contribute positively to our mental health while bad friends may cause more harm than good.
Here is a list of people you should avoid for better mental health.
The pretender/backstabber
These are people that pretend to be your friend, only to turn around and betray you. It’s very common to find people like these in our working environments, schools and even in the area where we live.
Once you spot a pretender, flee from them. They are not the kinds of people you need around you.
The quick-to-judge types
Human beings are usually quick to judge without adequate facts and evidence. But then, there are those kinds of people who do not even try to be less judgmental. They believe the first thing they see or hear without asking questions, and judge unfairly.
The self-righteous narcissist
The self-righteous narcissist only thinks about themselves and are never wrong. But they judge and criticize others who do not act according to their standards. They are attention seekers that often position themselves as victims.
This kind of person may want to control everything you do, especially if it’s not going in line with their principles. In order not to fall victim to their psychological abuse, disengage from them.
The aggressive and easily angered
These people can easily get angry or lose their tempers when they don’t get what they want. The truth is we often have to deal with these kinds of people either at work or in our daily course of life. They usually take out their anger on someone else and may get abusive with you either physically or verbally.
The pessimistic friend
Pessimistic people have a negative mental attitude, expecting the worst from everything. The problem with having people like this around you is that will drag you down. They will discourage you from taking risks or doing anything that isn’t the usual because they believe it just wouldn’t work.
If you have big dreams and aspirations, then you should reconsider being around people like this because you just might not get far in life. And the saddest part is that, if you don’t stay away, you just might start to think like them. Pessimism is contagious.
The secret competitor
Although they may be called the secret competitor, in truth these kinds of people are easy to spot. They watch your every step and copy your every move and try to get a step ahead of you. They try to sabotage your success and don’t celebrate your victories but brag about theirs to your face.
The manipulator
Manipulative people only make decisions that will benefit them. They may become friends with you and be nice to you at first, but over time they treat you however they want because they don’t care about you. But only about what they can get from you.
Avoid these people at all costs because they may attack your mental and emotional side just for their selfish gain.
The talkative and gossipy person
Gossips are fake people that may spend time with you just to gossip about others. And also get more information about you to gossip to others. They go about spreading malicious rumours and talking so much without even knowing when to stop.
If someone gossips to you about others, just know that they may gossip about you too.
Also read: Here’s What Happens When You Make Mental Health A Priority
The Mr. know-it-all
Mr. know-it-all is the kind of person that wants to win every argument. They claim to know it all and can never admit to being wrong even when they make mistakes. Being friends with these kinds of people can make you feel dumb. This is because they make you believe you don’t know enough and they can’t learn from you. But rather, you should learn from them.
The lazy/short cut taker
This kind of person doesn’t want to go through stress and is not willing to work for what they want. But rather they seek shortcuts and easy means of getting what they want. As humans we many somethings feel lazy from time to time, and this is normal. But when it becomes a habit, then it becomes a problem.
Being around lazy people can be mentally and physically draining because they would expect you to do everything for them.
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Conclusion:
Before starting any form of relationship with people, you should first find yourself, know what you want and define your goals. So you don’t get easily influenced or manipulated for someone else’s selfish gain.
More importantly, remember to prioritize your mental health when dealing with people. This not only helps you make better friends but also helps you avoid people who can cause more harm than good in your life.
DISCLAIMER:
The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is provided for general information only.
RECOMMENDATION
If you need help or know someone who needs help with their mental health or mental illness, check out the resource page for mental health resources.
