Introduction
The friendships you have with others are important to your happiness, and that’s why it’s critical to look for warning signs in your relationships. Friendships should be enriching experiences, but if you find yourself feeling drained after spending time with someone, that’s a red flag. It may also be a sign that this relationship is no longer good for either of you. Today We are talking about the red flags. But first, subscribe to Joi’s Journey of Perception, to get alerts of my new posts.
Your friend makes you feel guilty or ashamed.
A friend who makes you feel guilty or ashamed is not a friend at all. It’s not your fault, and it’s not your responsibility to make them feel better. You can’t fix anyone else, especially if they don’t want to be fixed in the first place. If they need help, they need to get it themselves. And if the person won’t do that, then you have every right to remove yourself from their life so that they don’t use you as a scapegoat anymore. You can’t force a person who doesn’t want help into getting it; instead of trying to “fix” someone else, focus on doing what is best for yourself and protecting yourself from people who take advantage of others’ kindnesses without giving anything back in return!
Their actions don’t match their words.
You might be the kind of person who believes in being supportive and positive. You probably want to surround yourself with people who are like that, too. If you find yourself surrounded by friends who say one thing but act another way, it might be time to reevaluate that friendship.
If someone is saying they’re happy for you when they don’t seem to be, or if they say they’re proud of you but aren’t acting like it, that’s a red flag. It can seem like a small thing. After all, we all have our days where we don’t feel as excited about things as we should. But if those feelings extend over a long period of time or happen too frequently, then it may be time to take some steps toward parting ways with them before things get worse from there.
When something goes wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault.
When something goes wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault. This person is not only unable to take responsibility for their own actions, they always project blame onto others. This can happen when they have done something wrong, or even when they feel slighted by another person. Whatever the situation may be, this person will find a way to blame someone else and never accept that the problem may have originated with them.
This person also refuses to admit their mistakes and apologize when necessary. Even if it means losing friends in the process. Even if everyone around them saw what happened firsthand, this person will refuse to acknowledge anything wrong on his/her part and continue acting as though he/she has been victimized by another individual or group of people who should be ashamed of themselves for hurting him/her so badly.
They are forever the victim.
This is pretty self-explanatory.
Friendship is not a one-way street.
Friendship is not a one-way street. Friendships are not built on the “I do everything for you because I like you” principle. Rather, they are based on mutual respect, understanding, trust, and support. These things take time to build and develop. And even then there may be times when one or both parties are not feeling well or happy with their lives in general. In those cases, it helps to remember that friendships don’t always have to be perfect; they just need to be honest!
They don’t respect your boundaries.
This can be a tricky one to navigate, especially if you’re new to setting boundaries. It’s important to remember that it’s okay for you to say no or set a boundary. Sometimes this will mean saying no when you are too busy or don’t want to do something.
In general, respect for your boundaries is a sign of maturity and self-confidence in all relationships. Not just friendships. Setting healthy, reasonable limits (whether imposed by yourself or by others) demonstrates that you have confidence in your own integrity and independence.
Your friend tries to keep you from spending time with other friends or family members.
The best friendships are ones where both parties are able to give and take. If your friend tries to keep you from spending time with other friends or family members, it’s a red flag. It’s not healthy for one person in the relationship to be so possessive that they prevent the other person from spending time with others.
There are many reasons why someone might try to isolate their friend from other people. They might want all of your attention on them and feel jealous when you talk about another person or spend time with them instead of hanging out with your own friends (or even family members).
They are ungrateful and entitled.
If you’re the kind of person who feels entitled to things, or if a friend is always complaining about how much they have to do for everyone else and how no one ever does anything for them, then it might be time to re-evaluate your friendship.
If you’re an ungrateful person, then you will never be satisfied with what you have in life. And if someone is constantly ungrateful around you, then it will make you feel bad about yourself and your own efforts.
They take more than they give back.
A good friend is someone you can trust. They’re there when you need them, they listen to what you have to say and they respect your opinion. A good friend will share their time and energy with you without expecting anything in return—they don’t expect to be paid back for everything they do for you, but just want the opportunity to help out of kindness and generosity.
A bad friend isn’t as interested in spending time with you as they are in using whatever it is that makes up your relationship for their own personal gain. This could be anything from taking advantage of your generosity, asking for something without giving anything back, or simply making themselves look good through association with another person.
Here are some examples of what a good friend does:
- Invites me over for dinner even though I haven’t seen them in ages;
- Helps me move into my new apartment;
- Bails me out when I’m short on cash;
If you can’t talk to someone about what’s good in your life, how can they be a good support when things aren’t good?
If you can’t talk to someone about what’s good in your life, how can they be a good support when things aren’t good?
The only time I would ever want to hide my successes from my friends is if I was celebrating it with them and wanted them to feel jealous. But neither of those options are available if we’re talking about a fake friend. A real friend won’t care if you have success but will be there for you when things go wrong or when the world is just too hard.
Conclusion
While it can be daunting to face your own red flags, these types of relationships are not worth maintaining. If you find yourself in a friendship that’s causing you pain, there are many ways to get out. You can ask for help from friends or family members who know what they’re doing, seek counseling on your own, or with someone else who has been through something similar. You might even want to talk with the people involved directly and try talking things through before making any decisions about whether or not to end things altogether. If all else fails though (and sometimes it will), then just remember that there’s always another friend out there waiting for you when needed!
