Each of us has encountered toxic people at some point. These can be both close people and strangers. They are overly persistent and intrusive. After communicating with them, you are left with a feeling of fatigue, irritation, and hostility. But not everyone knows how to have a conversation with toxic people, how to avoid falling into their trap. In this article we will look at how to respond to toxic people in order to maintain your peace of mind and comfort. What are the rules for dealing with toxic people? 1. You should not tell such people that they are wrong. Don't get into an argument. Otherwise, misinformation will be used against you, which will lead to gossip about you. You will most likely remain wrong and, as a bonus, you will become the culprit of why a toxic person is in a bad mood. The peculiarity of toxic people is that they themselves are deeply traumatized people and, with the precision of a jeweler, get into your traumas, look for your vulnerabilities, choose those who are dependent and not knows how to defend himself.2. Contact with a toxic person should be avoided. Ignoring and not engaging is the best strategy. Remain detached and calm as much as possible. If the toxic person does start a dialogue with you, apologize and say that you are busy or that you are not interested in this topic. 3. You should not tell any information about yourself. In the end, all this will be used against you. The optimal solution would be to pretend that you have no news, that you have nothing to tell.4. There is no need to discuss others with a toxic person. You are involved in his game, and he will use what you say against you. 5. If you need to end a conversation, you should say: “I’m sorry, I’m not interested,” or “I’m sorry, I’m busy right now with what’s important to me.” 6. When talking with a toxic person, you need to understand his manipulation, and then take the course of the game into your own hands. To do this, remain an observer, analyze, and do not give hasty reactions. If you feel confused, say “I need to think about this,” “I need to talk to other people about this.” If a toxic person expresses a negative opinion about you, you should respond as follows: “Interesting opinion. Maybe you're right. There are no ideal people in the World.”, or note that you are not interested in such a conversation - “Thank you for your opinion, I heard you, but I’m not interested.” You can also use counter questions, which, as a rule, becomes unexpected for the manipulator: “Why are you telling me this?”, “Why is this important to you?”, “Why do you need this?” Answer a question with a question, manipulators don’t like this and they quickly get bored with such communication. You can use the method of bringing manipulation to the point of absurdity. Accept the provocation, intensify it, make it ridiculous. For example, if a toxic person said that you are a bad person, you could respond with, “Oh, yeah, you're right. I'm the worst person on the planet. All the troubles happen because of me. I am very terrible, better stay away from me.” If you do not react to what they say and do, they will soon lose interest in communicating with you, and you will emerge victorious from this game. If they show aggression towards you , find support and don't be afraid to speak openly about what the toxic person is doing. Any manipulator is most afraid of being exposed and losing face. Therefore, do not be alone with such people. Dealing with toxic people is not easy. Sometimes you have to step over yourself in order not to succumb to provocation. But if you regularly train to protect yourself and your borders, living in a world with toxic people will become easier. With respect to you, psychologist Olga Bychkova!