What To Do With The Toxic People Among Us

To extirpate or not to extirpate?

Image by Jesse Bridgewater

Sigh Of Relief

Have you ever caught yourself breathing a sigh of relief when someone leaves the room? It is incredible how one toxic individual is all it takes to disrupt the most exciting group of people. It happens in groups of friends, teams, couples and siblings, and any other gang of human beings we may imagine. One person can singlehandedly rattle group dynamics. The most remarkable part is that they don’t even need to intend to.

Toxic Nature

Toxic people are toxic per se. It is who they are. They suck the life out of those around them. The cause of their noxious presence is as varied as their number. It might be the search for validation, an ulterior individualistic ambition, or pure schadenfreude. One of the worst features of social toxicity is that it doesn’t matter how virulent it is. The degree of harmfulness of the poison is not as relevant as we might expect in the literal, physical sense. When it comes to toxic people, even a mild effect can be devastating. At the very least, it can prevent otherwise extraordinary groups of professionals from thriving and doing their best work.

Inefficient Tolerance

Moreover, non-toxic people tend to be exceedingly tolerant. They will generally…