Friendship is key to our health and happiness, but the quality of our friendships matter. Find out in this post the 7 types of friends we need to avoid to protect our mental wellbeing and happiness.

1. THE BUDDING OPTIMIST
7 Types of Friends
to Avoid for a
Happier Life
Are These "Friends" Bringing You Down?

2. Presentation Overview
Why Friendships Matter
The 7 Types of Friends That
Negatively Impact our
Happiness
Contact Information

3. WHY
FRIENDSHIPS
MATTER
QUALITY
FRIENDSHIPS
ENRICH OUR
LIVES AND
HELP US GROW.
QUALITY
FRIENDSHIPS
BUFFER US
FROM LIFE'S
STRESSORS.
QUALITY
FRIENDSHIPS
IMPROVE OUR
HEALTH AND
HAPPINESS.

4. In a survey conducted by Huffington Post about the impact of friends on people's lives,
they found that "friendship is the single most important factor in determining a person’s
happiness"
What does research
say about friendship
and happiness?

5. THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF PEOPLE
IN OUR LIVES

6. PEOPLE WHO LIFT US UP
They fill us with energy, joy, and purpose.
PEOPLE WHO BRING US
DOWN
They empty us emotionally and drain our
energy.

7. It's important to care
for ourselves by setting
boundaries with people
who take away our
happiness.
SELF-CARE ISN'T SELFISH!

8. 7 TYPES OF FRIENDS TO AVOID
The Friend Who's Always Complaining
The Friend Whose Life is a Never-ending Soap
Opera Series
The Friend Who Disrespects Your Core Values
The Friend Who Has to be Better Than You in
Everything
The friend who never grows up
The friend who tries to stunt your personal
development
The friend who holds onto grudges

9. According to psychologists, we will subconsciously imitate the facial expressions, posture, and even tone of
voice of those we spend a lot of time with. By doing this, we soak up whatever emotions they express and
even adopt their mental state. So if you're often around somebody who's always complaining, it's hard to feel
positive yourself.
The Friend
Who's Always
Complaining
1.

10. The Friend
Whose Life is a
Never-ending
Soap Opera Series
2.
People who revel in drama need an audience who will pay them constant, undivided attention. They're not
really looking for solutions to their problems and they're rarely interested in you. Spending too much time
with friends who like drama will kill your productivity and leave you empty emotionally.

11. 3.
The Friend Who
Disrespects Your
Core Values
Respect for one another's values and beliefs is critical in any good friendship. Disrespect for someone's core
values is a sign of intolerance. That kind of attitude will not only create tension and resentment in your
friendship, it will limit day-to-day conversations to superficial topics and become unfulfilling over time.

12. If you have a friend who is set on outshining you in every aspect of life, then it's obvious they do not think they
can learn anything from you. They can't bring themselves to feel genuine happiness for your success if it
somehow towers over their own. A friend is someone who can be our cheerleader, not someone who will
secretly (or not so secretly) boo us on the sidelines.
The Friend Who Has
to be Better Than
You in Everything
4.

13. Do you have a friend who still parties way too hard, throws tantrums when they don't get their way, or refuses to
take on real responsibilities, even though they're well into adulthood? The more and more you grow up, the
wider and wider the gap will be between you—until you're unable to speak the same language anymore. This
kind of friendship dynamic will inevitably lead to frustration on both sides.
5.
The friend who
never grows up

14. This type of friend doesn't want to move outside of their comfort zone and they don't want you to leave yours
either. They don't want you to grow because they're scared of losing you. If you have a friend who, instead of
supporting and encouraging you to be a better version of yourself, tries to stop you from progressing forward,
it's time to re-examine this friendship.
6.
The friend
who tries to stunt
your personal
development

15. There's nothing more damaging to a friendshipthan the poison of old grudges. No matter how wonderful your
friendship is, there will be times when conflicts and misunderstandings occur. People who like to hold onto
grudges long after apologies were made or harbour resentment over the littlest things will make you feel bad
about yourself. You will try to bend yourself backward to try to please them and apologize more than necessary.
7.
The friend who
holds onto grudges

16. Check out the original blog
post at The Budding
Optimist Blog.
Don't forget to sign up for
The Budding Optimist
Newsletter for more
content related to happy
and healthy living!
Liked This
Presentation?
READ THE BLOG