The Aftermath of Cutting Toxic Friends Out

By: Hanna Khalid

We all like having friends in our lives, someone to call “My best friend”. Personally, I don’t believe this exists to me anymore. I mean, I have real friends of course, who doesn’t. But most likely the ones I had were and still are toxic.

I’ve had numerous amounts of toxic friends. Did I enjoy my life? Absolutely not. I’ve never felt comfortable around these bunch of friends I had. If I did something really good in my life, encouragement was nowhere to be found from these people. They never felt happy for me, I used to be blamed if I had something they didn’t. As a matter of fact, they actually used to make me feel guilty about it. To be honest, everyone out of the three toxic friends I had, took it upon himself/herself to ruin my day. One used to start unnecessary drama, the other used to let me down, and last but not least, the one who used to make me feel guilty about everything. I remember the times I’ve been taken for granted, so that they can be happy, they’d only talk to me when it’s convenient for them. I won’t say I was a weak person, I’d rather say “unexperienced”.

After a while , I started to realize every one of them was beyond toxic. I was so naïve that I didn’t immediately let go. I simply thought I’d regret it.

Now that I am not friends with any of these people: Do I regret it? Kind of. But I had that immense feeling of relief that I’m no longer in their orbit. I started gaining my confidence, and self – esteem over the summer. I no more regret not being friends with them. I can say that I’m actually happier. Toxic friends are terrible, you should never keep them or force yourself to stay if you’re uncomfortable. If they don’t add a meaning to your life, let them go.