Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence | How To Deal With Toxic People Effectively

Publication date: 2017 Nov 24

We are social creatures and communication with other people is almost inescapable. We have many types of people in our surrounding. You are lucky if those around you inspire you and make you want to become better. But there are also people who you are indifferent to and even those who bring you unpleasant emotions by behaving in the way which is unacceptable to you.

Toxic people are quite a widespread type of those who bring discomfort into other peoples’ lives. Dealing with them wisely is important, as they can be very disruptive and harmful to your emotional and physical well-being.

AVOIDING NEGATIVE PEOPLE

The first and foremost thing to be done with regards to toxic people is trying to avoid them. If you can eliminate them from your environment or at least reduce the amount of time you spend with them, do so. Yes, this brings additional inconveniences, but if you see that you are not in the position to tell this person to change his ways, avoiding difficult individual might be the best option.

SETTING BOUNDARIES

Avoiding unpleasant people is not a way out for many, as they might need to communicate with a toxic person closely on a daily basis. In such cases, setting boundaries will be required. You do not have to listen to all the gossips and all the negative things that happen in this person’s life. Simply saying that you are busy at the moment and it is time for you to go will deprive you of an unpleasant interaction with the negative person.

LEARN TO SAY “NO”

If you have an issue with the person who has a negative influence on you in terms of being harassing, annoying or manipulative, it means that you did not master the art of saying “no” to uncomfortable things in your life. Saying “no” is a skill that can be acquired, so you have a great chance to practice it now when you ended up in a situation when the communication with a toxic person is unavoidable. Saying “no” does not mean that you have to be rude. Explaining that you do not have time for the conversation can be done in a polite manner as well.

DIFFERENTIATING WHO IS REALLY WORTH YOUR ATTENTION

Many things can go wrong in our life, and sometimes we need to talk about them with someone else. If your friend or colleague has a bumpy period of time in his life and he needs to talk to someone, it is okay to give your attention to him. However, if a person is complaining about everything every day, it is a time to realize that an energy vampire might be talking to you and certain measures should be taken.

PRACTICE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Being a victim of an emotionally exhausting communication will not bring you any good. A strange headache, bad mood and an unpleasant aftertaste after the interaction is a signal that you deal with a toxic person. Practicing emotional intelligence is what you need to avoid stress while communicating with the person who drains the energy out of you. The ability to correctly identify and manage your emotions as well as emotions of others is a skill that can be and should be developed.

Having a toxic person in your surrounding is an unpleasant experience. However, dealing with difficult individuals is a manageable task and smart reaction to poisoning behavior of other people can bring you a piece of mind.