If your friend group does this, now is a great time to leave the group chat...

🙌🏽💖FOLLOW, SHARE and SAVE if this “gets you”. Whenever you see an adult friend group using relational aggression - gossip, cold shoulders, smear campaigns, and exclusion - to keep its members in line, you aren't looking at a tight-knit circle... You’re looking at a group where every single person is deeply insecure. In these types of toxic dynamics, compliance is the price of admission. The ringleader uses what amounts to psychological warfare to maintain control because their fragile ego views authenticity and/or independence as a threat. The thing is, if you like the people in the group, you can trick yourself into thinking one or two of them AREN'T the same as everyone else openly participating. The people following along are just as insecure though. They participate in the gossip and the exclusion because they are terrified of being the next target for exclusion... in a group of "friends" doing harm to each other for sport. It’s a group dynamic built entirely on trauma responses, where everyone is walking on eggshells and calling it loyalty. If you’ve been iced out by a group like this, it usually feels a lot like a personal failure until you recognize it for the badge of honour it truly is. It means you couldn't be controlled by their shared insecurity, and you chose yourself and your wellbeing over delusion. 🫶🏼✨ Hey, I’m Dee. I’m NOT a therapist or Dr of any kind. I’m a woman healing from CPTSD out loud by talking about psychology, neurodivergence, relationships, and what’s helping me heal along the way. If that sounds interesting, hit FOLLOW to see more. 👀💕 🫶🏼✨ Hey, I’m Dee. I’m NOT a therapist or Dr of any kind, and nothing I share on this page is a substitute for professional medical advice or should be taken as medical advice. I’m just a woman healing from CPTSD out loud by talking about psychology, relational aggression, neurodivergence, relationships, and what’s helping me heal along the way. If that aligns, hit FOLLOW to see more. 👀💕 #MentalHealth #psychology #cptsd #toxicrelationships #toxicpeople