14 Types of friends to avoid

The Competitive Friend

There’s always that one person who’s always competitive by nature. However, there may be nothing wrong with a competitive friend as long as it’s friendly. If and when a friendship becomes more of competition it may be time to end it. These are the types of friends to avoid.

Competitive friends can never be happy for you when you get good news or you have accomplished great things in your life. They instead keep reminding you that you’re not where you want to be or that they are still better than you despite your small win. Alternatively, they celebrate their wins by putting you down.

The Gossip Queen

Most of us have encountered that friend who we told something in secret and told all of our other friends. There’s always that friend who is always talking about other people’s business. The rule is If someone is gossiping about their friends, they’re probably talking about you behind your back as well. These are the types of friends to avoid.

The Judgemental Friend

This is the friend who’s constantly criticizing you. When you’re around this type of friend you can never do anything right. You don’t need this type of friendship because it’s very draining and toxic.

The one who never reaches out

Are you always the first to reach out to your friend to check up on them or to make plans? It always feels like they’re doing you a favor. These are the types of friends to avoid. You need a reliable friend. You need friends who will call to check up on you

The Disappearing Friend

This is the friend who is around when they have nothing and no one to do. They only hang out with you because they have nowhere else to be. If they have plans, they never include you in their plans. This is the friend who disappears when they’re in a new relationship.

It’s practical for friends to have less time when they’re in a new relationship but this friend disappears completely and emerges once the relationship is having problems or is over. This shows that you’ve never been a priority in their life.

The Energy Vampire

These are the types of friends who drain you. The conversation is always about complaints and problems. They want your full attention and the conversation is always about them. They’re always dealing with one crisis after another. They drain you emotionally after spending a few hours with them. These are the types of friends to avoid. You can try and set boundaries but if that does not work then it may be time to protect your own energy.

Guilt Trippers

These are the friends who dismiss you, ignore, and judge you. They always make everything your fault. Do they make you feel dismissed so you have to always be careful around them to avoid conflict. They make you feel guilty for your personal values, boundaries, and principles.

They make comments like ” I would have invited you but I know you wouldn’t have had fun anyway, it was not your kinda thing”. You don’t need friends who discredit your principles and your choices. Guilt trippers are the types of friends to avoid. You will always be different and you need friends who accept that.

The Invalidating Friend

This is the friend who is always invalidating your feelings. Friendship is about staying up all night and talking about your feelings, it’s not about making someone feel stupid about their feelings. At times when you’re being a cry baby, it’s perfectly okay for your friend to be stern with you but in a loving way.

The Disrespectful Friend

Establishing boundaries early in the friendship can be very helpful and can lead to a healthier relationship. If you have friends who don’t respect your time or your boundaries, it may be time to have the talk.

These are the types of friends to avoid if even after talking to them about it they don’t change. They’re always 3 hours late and show up without apologizing. You need friends who respect your boundaries and your time. It’s okay for a friend to be late while going out for a party but it’s not okay for a friend to keep you waiting at a coffee house in the middle of the day.

The Frenemy

You have to be very careful about the frenemy because they appear to be your very good friend but in reality, they don’t want the best for you. They can be very strategic and calculating in the way they hide their true feelings about you. They hang out with you either because you are well connected or you may be an asset to them in the future. These are the types of friends to avoid like the plague. Always trust your intuition and gut feeling about someone.

The Calculator

This is the friend who is always keeping score. This is the type of friend who says I did not call you because I was the last person who got in touch, the friend who buys you gifts expecting you will buy them gifts in return. You don’t need this type of friendship because you constantly feel like you have to keep score.

The Debbie Downer

This is the type of friend who is always down, she is in constant need of attention. It can be exhausting both mentally and psychologically to deal with a friend like this. She’s always trying to bring everyone’s energy down to their level. These are the types of friends to avoid. You need bubbly friends in your life.

The Flake

This is the friend who is always a no show. Something always comes up last minute or they don’t even bother to communicate. You need friends who respect your time, friends who are excited to see you and hang out with you. If you try talking to this friend and nothing changes, add them to the types of friends to avoid.

The Gaslighter

This is the friend who is always gaslighting you. Making you question your own memory and thoughts by manipulating you. They always make you think that everything is your fault. If they hurt you it’s because of something that you said or did. If you have this type of friend it’s time to return that friendship.