Toxic people can cause anxiety. A toxic person shows one of the following traits excessively. They are negative, pessimistic, cruel, critical, play the victim, gossip, self-absorbed, control freak, dramatic, jealous, judgmental or inconsiderate. They are contagious when others are not aware. The goal in dealing with them is to neutralize them so their bad attitude doesn’t spread.
1. Don’t join their pity party. Limit the amount of time listening to them. Be polite but excuse yourself from the discussion.
2. Decrease interaction with them. A certain level of interaction is required with co-workers yet try to decrease it. Email and texting can be less emotionally draining than in-person or voice communication.
3. Forgive the person. If they have done something offensive, forgive but remember their toxicity. Continue to set boundaries.
4. Don’t feed into gossip. When someone is talking bad, don’t add juicy details. Furthermore, try to act as if you are not interested and have better things to do.
5. Watch your physical health. Limit caffeine and get enough sleep.
