2. They bully you and disguise it as humour
As I grew older, a friendship taught me that not every joke is innocent. A friend regularly made comments about my appearance and later began spreading rumours about me at school. She would deliberately push me into boys and then tell everyone I had done it because I liked them. Looking back, I realised that if someone’s entertainment comes at your expense, it isn’t humour.
3. They expect you to fix every conflict
One of my closest friendships followed a pattern every time we argued. If she hurt me, she would go silent instead of talking about it. She would withdraw, stop eating, avoid everyone and wait for me to reach out first. I always took the initiative because I valued the friendship more than the disagreement. Eventually, I realised I was carrying the emotional responsibility for both of us.
4. They only lean on you when they need support
I’ve spent hours listening to friends cry over heartbreaks, relationship problems and family issues without ever making them feel like a burden. But when I needed the same support, I was often met with, “I’m not in the mental space to listen.” It happened more than once. It’s one of the harder-to-diagnose signs of toxic friendship, and it made me realise emotional support shouldn’t only flow in one direction.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: vogue.in
