Priya Kumari – Enigmatic Horizon Staff (Sub Editor)
Worried about your partner’s behavior? Is your partner abusive? Does your partner, friends, or family consistently use mean and rude words towards you? If yes, then there is a high chance that you are dealing with a toxic person. Any kind of toxic relationship can be dangerous and extremely harmful for your mental peace and harmony.
Identifying toxic people
Toxic people are the ones who try to hurt our emotions by using rude and mean words. These kinds of people exist in each type of relationship- family, friends, work environment, loved ones, etc. Being born into a toxic family can lead to serious depression, extreme anxiety, tension, and even low self-esteem.
How do you determine toxic people?
If any of your family members are toxic, then they will often make you feel inferior and try to control your life when it comes to making major as well as minor decisions. One of the best possible ways to overcome this is to ignore such people, and if it becomes overwhelming, one may need to take the help of an expert.
If you are dealing with a toxic work environment, it means you have an aggressive boss who is overly strict with deadlines, bullying co-workers, bosses or managers who nag and yell about small mistakes, gossiping behavior among co-workers, etc.
If a friend is toxic, then they will be jealous of your achievements and show backbiting behavior, along with selfishness. Any toxic relationship is dangerous. However, a toxic relationship between two people in a romantic relationship becomes the most threatening. This is because one is going to spend their whole life with that particular person, even if they are toxic.
A toxic partner shows traits such as possessiveness, doubt, disrespect, arrogance, ego, etc. This kind of relationship is considered unhealthy. It can threaten one physically, psychologically, or emotionally.
If one continues to be with such a toxic person, then one day they might end up suffering from mental ailments such as bipolar disorder or depression. The best way is undoubtedly to end the relationship.
Most of them, even after breaking up, are forced to go through depression. They find it hard to live a happy and positive life. The past continues to haunt them. Therefore, let’s discuss three possible ancient wisdoms to overcome toxic people in our lives.
The Great Stoic Philosopher, Epictetus, said this in his book Manual for Living: “Avoid fraternizing with people who don’t share your values. Prolonged association with those with false ideas can only tarnish your thinking.”
Stoicism is the philosophy that says we should change what we can and endure what we cannot. Stoicism generally states that people have more control over their lives than they realize. Also, people have the power to choose their company and friends. Therefore, keeping bad company and tolerating them is completely one’s own choice.
“Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.” This is one of the famous quotes by the Greek philosopher Socrates. Through this quote, he urges one to take time to get to know the person and make friendships only after knowing them fully. However, once this happens, one should stay loyal to the person.
“We should repay the favors of others by acts of kindness; so should we return evil for evil, in which there is no sin, for it is necessary to pay a wicked man in his own coin” – this is a famous quote by the renowned Indian scholar and philosopher Chanakya, which teaches us to deal with toxic people. Through this quote, he meant that one needs to be kind to those who are kind to us, but at times, he also said that we also need to repay the evil ones with a taste of their own medicine.
It’s we, not them, who allow them to hurt us. It is totally under our control who to accompany or befriend and whom not.
Prayers are also effective. It can provide one with emotional and mental support.
If you are a victim of a toxic relationship, then follow these simple ancient teachings to overcome toxic people. It is quite normal nowadays to meet a toxic person and become a part of their life, as anxiety, stress, and negativity are increasing among the masses. The best thing to do is get out of their lives and work towards improving one’s own life.
