Picture yourself with your friends. Have you ever sometimes felt extreme anxiety, sadness even, fear of judgment, feelings of powerlessness, or even chronic doubt of yourself and your intrinsic worth? You wonder what on earth could be wrong with you. But maybe you don't have a problem. Maybe you have a toxic friend.

We are fortunate to have so many friends over the course of our lives, each different and capable of enriching our lives and uplifting us. But what might cause us to feel different and occasionally less happy when we're with our friends? Somebody in the mix can be toxic. I have the privilege of having so many amazing people in my life--but I've still spent long periods of time wondering why I sometimes felt alone when surrounded by a group, why at times I felt I was "weird" and "not good enough" for my own friends, why I occasionally felt uncomfortable among people I knew. Only recently did it click. I had a toxic friend.