7 Types Of Fake Friends You Should Be Able To Recognize

False friends are like the dark side of the moon. At first they dazzle us with their enchantment and kind attention, but little by little we see the other side where an interesting character is hiding in the cavities. The harsh and desolate emotional side that undermines our spirit almost without acknowledging it. These are personalities that we should no doubt know how to identify as quickly as possible, for the sake of our emotional health.

It is often said that friendship is the best ingredient in life. It’s love too. There is no doubt about that. But what a good friend does for us sometimes transcends the bond of romantic and family relationships. Thus, the friendship built on the basis of compassion, shared experiences and intense trust is what gives us a source of eternal energy and above all quality of life.

“Those who think they are good and helpful are the same ones who, out of envy, wish you all evil.”

-Lucca Capiotto

However, it is inevitable that from time to time we will cross paths with one of the examples that are so common in many social contexts. Where selfishness and selfishness are camouflaged under the guise of the most luminous friendship. And we fall into their trap, of course we do. Because in our natural innocence we do not doubt for a moment that the cardinal purpose of any good friendship is to bring happiness, support and well-being.

Until it finally happens. Disappointments, small lies, constant contempt and more cryptic manipulations are starting to emerge. Whether we like it or not, we have to face one of these fake friends that we did not look forward to coming , but that we have to get rid of as soon as possible, for our own health and dignity…

Types of fake friends – the social climber

One of the first fake friends we usually come across in life is the “social climber”. We see them in primary school, high school, university and of course at work.

They are the people who build bonds of friendship with only one purpose in mind – to climb the social ladder. It is common for these people in their school years to seek closeness to the most popular or excellent students. Later in a work context, they will not hesitate to humiliate and manipulate right and left to climb to a higher position.

Friends with good weather

This is a very well known type of fake friend. We are talking about the people who are always close in days of peace and well-being. They are ready to be with us for any party or outing. But when a problem or situation arises where we need their support and interest, they disappear like the wind when we close a window…

The rapper who judges you

The healthiest friendships are the ones that give us well-being at all times. These friends make us feel good about their closeness. We are sure that they will not judge or criticize us and that by spending a few hours with this person, we will leave there with a better feeling than when we arrived.

But that does not happen with fake friends . With them, it is common for us to go home with a worse feeling than before. In fact, a kind of false friend that overflows, one whose hobby is to figure out each of our mistakes, to make aware of every mistake we make (or do not make), and to judge ourselves over and over again. This type of dynamic generates significant emotional strain.

The friend who quietly or shamelessly envies you

“You always do everything perfectly”, “these things do not happen to me as they do to you”, “you are always so lucky” … This and other types of phrases are the ones that this kind of fake friend repeats . The friends who in the heart of their being envy us.

But their low self-esteem leads to this type of very unhealthy interactions for both parties.

5. They want your life to be good, but not better than theirs

This trait of a fake friend is both whimsical and ordinary. It manifests itself as: we have people in our lives who encourage us to overcome obstacles in order to succeed. But when we succeed, instead of being happy on our behalf, they remove themselves or show discomfort.

This situation is once again caused by low self-esteem . This type of friend will always feel more comfortable when they are with us while we are at their level and in the same state. But any glimpse of success or overcoming an obstacle makes them feel inferior and contributes to their contradiction and discomfort.

6. The rival disguised as a best friend

If you buy a cell phone, one of your friends will, without hesitation, look for a better one. If you go to the gym, be careful. He or she will also do it to overcome your performance. Their goal – to be better than you in everything you do, in what goal you set for yourself or in every achievement you make.

These false friends act as our nemesis, the persecuting and vengeful shadow who will try to do better than us in any area of ​​our lives.

7. The friend who manipulates you

The manipulative friend is a discreet but irreconcilable example of false friendship. Almost without us knowing it, they anchor their threads to us like a puppet so they can manipulate us at will. Sometimes they will use victimization, sometimes emotional blackmail along with other deceptions and strategies to keep us wrapped around their little finger so they get what they want at all times.

As long as we allow this series of actions, the manipulator will depend on our love. Maybe this friend has been with you for a long time, even from childhood. How do you end this emotional bond that has lasted so many years? It can hurt, but few things are as destructive as letting someone have an impact on our lives when in fact they do not love us or love us badly.

In conclusion, as you can already guess, there are many types of fake friends – the one who criticizes, the one who betrays, the one who gossips… We could go on. The most important thing, however , is that in addition to identifying them, we also know how to handle them.

You do not necessarily have to resort to breaking the bond between the two of you. Sometimes it is enough to leave things clear, set boundaries for the relationship or even favor the personal growth and self-esteem of that friend, in order to create healthier relationships.