When we think of a toxic person, we often think of someone who is rude, manipulative, hostile, selfish, and so on. It is not always easy to tell if someone is toxic immediately; usually, it takes a little time to acknowledge the red flags that are there. What can be even more difficult to recognize is those same toxic traits or behaviors in ourselves.
Our brain has interesting ways of protecting ourselves and justifying our beliefs and actions. It can often be hard to see a toxic trait in ourselves, or if we do, we can underestimate its effect on our lives. So what should we watch out for? How would these toxic traits look to us?
Our Toxic Traits
It is easy to point out toxic traits in other people, but these can look slightly different when we are looking within. Let’s look at some common toxic traits and how they would present to ourselves:
Manipulative
There is a fine line between persuasion and manipulation in an argument, and it is easier than you think to cross it. The biggest difference that you were being manipulative and not persuasive was using emotional control or deception to influence someone. An indicator of being persuasive or manipulative is looking at your goals and what you were focused on. Were you empathetic and focused on how this could benefit your partner? Or were…
