Anywhere you go, toxic people will find a way to get to you, even when you least expect it. They'll act like a friend, classmate, or even a family member. However, without you noticing until it's too late, they'll seep into you, filling you with their toxins. You'll be so enraptured by them that you won't notice they're doing this until it's too late. How do I know? Because it happened to me. Multiple times. It comes in stages. The first stages few are less apparent than the last few. Over time, you pick up on things that seem off, but because they're so close to you, you brush it off as if they're being weird that day. I'm here to tell you that it is 100% okay to cut that person from your life. You may think I'm being harsh, but please, hear me out.

At first, it will be small favors. A few dollars here, a couple hours used to vent there. All seems fine. You don't question it because it just seems like the friendly thing to do. Then, it grows to more money, and more time spent with you. At this point, it is the stage where the venom starts to seep in, hypnotizing you to the fact that they are not the best for you. You won't even think of it because you've done it all before. Next is the attachment. They'll never leave your side, and since you're in such a trance that you'll believe anything they tell you, you are perfectly okay with it. No conversations are off-limits. The person in question will begin to fill your mind with their opinions and ideologies, not taking your opinion into consideration. Basically, if this were a video game, all of the points already made would equate to level 1. Just like in all games, level 2 is trickier and harder to manage.

At this point, you'll start to notice something is off. The toxicity seems to wear off, and you begin to see someone sitting in the place of the person you trusted the most. They sound exactly like them, however, their true colors begin to show. If you bring this up to someone who is also filled with the person's toxicity, they'll brush it off, almost putting you at blame for even bringing it up. After days, weeks, or even months, you finally see the person you trusted for the very first time. Sometimes, it takes bringing a new person to solidify your beliefs and reassure you that this person is, in fact, toxic. Someone to reassure you that, yes, you were right this whole time. It takes someone new for you to finally cut ties with that person after times of countless "what ifs."

From a mental health standpoint, personally, cutting people out of my life solely for the fact that they were not helping me emotionally or mentally has been an eye-opening experience. Seeing the change in my mood from having them around to not having them around has been tremendous. My depression and anxiety are slowly melting away, making it less apparent that they're even there. Surrounding myself with good people who have good intentions and care about me the way the toxic person never could is fantastic. Other than myself, I know many people who have had to do the same, all with similar results to mine.

Something that comes up a lot is the question,"What if the toxic person hates me for cutting them off?" At that point, you shouldn't be worrying about what they feel. This is one of those rare moments in life where you can be selfish. You don't have to worry about other people's feelings for once. In this moment, you are the only concern. If they don't like you anymore because you did something to better yourself, then they don't deserve to see you grow as a person without them. They'll regret treating you this way when they see how happy and full of life you are. That, my friends, is the best revenge.