Nourishing human versus Toxic human

The concept of toxic people, which I also include in my articles, is one that you often come across, especially on social media. So, what exactly is a toxic person? First of all, it should be underlined that the concept of toxic person is not a concept in the science of psychology. It is a concept that belongs to popular culture and is used to describe people who spread negativity around them with their behavior and make the people in their lives feel bad.

If you know someone whose actions evoke negative emotions in you and cause a lot of stress in your life, you may be dealing with a toxic person. There are many different reasons why a person can be toxic. For example, someone who had a traumatic childhood may turn into a toxic adult who exudes negativity. Or the person's toxic behavior may be due to underlying mental issues, including a personality disorder.

A person you know;

Never admits their mistakes,

If he acts as if there is something wrong with your character,

If he is trying to control you,

He/she does not care about your feelings,

If you can't be yourself around him,

If his behavior towards you is erratic,

If he has an egocentric nature,

If he doesn't respect your boundaries,

If it uses gaslighting, a method of psychological manipulation,

Exaggerates your mistakes and minimizes your successes,

Most importantly, if you feel bad every time you see him or her, you might be a toxic person.

By the way, we can be a toxic person too, of course. In order to understand whether we are toxic or not, we need to be honest with ourselves and analyze our behavior. If we speak harshly to the people around us instead of lovingly and softly, if we are generous with criticism and stingy with praise, if we are judgmental, if we spend our lives complaining non-stop and playing the role of victim, there is a possibility that we are a toxic person.

If our friends are leaving our lives one by one, it may be because we are a toxic person. The famous French philosopher Voltaire said "I chose to be happy because it was good for my health". We are all aware that chronic negative emotions are not good for us. If we are toxic people, we should take Voltaire's advice and consciously stop being toxic for our psychological well-being. One of the best ways to do this is to seek the support of a psychologist who works on these issues.

Recently, there is a new concept that is the opposite of the toxic person. This is the concept of "nutric person", which we can translate from English as "nutritious person". Spanish psychiatrist Dr. Marian Rojas-Estapé, author of the book "Finding Our Vitamin Person", defines nutritious people as vitamin people.

In a nutshell, "nutritious person" is a word used to describe a person who supports you and feeds your soul. Unlike toxic people who drain your energy and make you feel weak, a nurturing person can make you feel spiritually recharged. Nourishing people are characterized by being good listeners, having high empathy skills and being optimistic. For our psychological well-being, it is important to identify the toxic people in our lives and protect ourselves from them. Nourishing people in our lives