5 Surprising Ways How Negativity Affects Friendships: Unlock Happier Relationships

To learn how negativity affects friendships and how to address it, ask yourself if your friendships have been suffering lately without clear reason.

You will find a lot of information online about how to eliminate negative friendships from your life. However, what if the source of negativity is coming from you?

It isn’t always easy to recognise when you are being negative. Some people have no idea how their negativity is impacting others. So, if your friendships have been suffering lately, and you aren’t sure why, it could be down to your mindset and how negativity affects friendships.

Here, we’ll look at how your own negativity could be affecting your friendships and what you can do about it.

Negativity is an addiction to the bleak shadow that lingers around every human form.

– John O’Donohue

Are You a Negative Friend?

Understanding how negativity affects friendships can help you identify if you are being a negative friend. It isn’t always easy to identify negativity in ourselves. Many people are unaware that they are projecting negativity onto others. So, how can you identify if you are a negative friend?

Here are a few signs to look out for:

• you find it hard to keep friends
• you make plans knowing you’ll cancel them
• you don’t check in first or see how your friends are doing
• most conversations are about you
• they don’t come to you for emotional support

Now, some of these signs may not be down to your own negativity. For example, you may not check in first with your friends because it used to always be you initiating contact. In that case, you wouldn’t necessarily be a negative friend.

Some people find it hard to keep friends. However, if you generally find it easy to make friends and not keep them, there may be a problem. Assess your friendships, including those from the past, to understand how negativity affects friendships and whether it is a recurring issue.

Life gets busy and it isn’t always easy to keep in touch with friends. However, if you literally never contact anyone first, this is a sign you are a negative friend. Remember, friendships are a two-way street. Your friends need to know you care about them too.

Similarly, if you make plans knowing you’ll cancel them, and make all conversations about you, these are also negative friend traits.

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.

– Oprah Winfrey

The Impact Negativity Has on Friendships

There are several significant reasons why it’s important to understand how negativity affects friendships. So, why is it important to be a more positive friend? One of the key reasons to evaluate how negativity affects friendships is that nobody wants to be around someone who is constantly negative. It brings down their mood, leading them to feel more depressed or drained after they have been around you.

Another way negativity impacts friendships is that it is bad for the heart. Studies have shown that negative friendships affect our heart health.

You could unintentionally be causing your friends health issues with your constant negativity. These are just some of the problems you can cause if you are a negative friend.

When you bring negativity into your friendships, you won’t have strong relationships. Healthy friendships are important for our health and well-being.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

By reflecting on how negativity affects friendships, you can start making positive changes to strengthen your relationships. So, if you do identify as a negative friend, now’s the time to start working on adjusting your mindset. It might not be easy; but, doing so will ensure you have much healthier and happier friendships.