Toxic friendship: when it's time to let go

Friendship is a sacred covenant because it imparts purpose, meaning, and a sense of belonging to our lives that no other relationship can match. It can be translated as a friend who provides us with support, friendship, and the opportunity to share our lives with someone who genuinely cares. Not all friendships are healthy or positive. Unhealthy friendships, commonly referred to as toxic friendships, can contribute to an increased frequency of internal conflicts (Suroya & Dewi, 2022) and can harm healthy relationships. Such friendships have a high propensity to impair a person's productivity, cause mental disruptions, and even provoke violent emotional outbursts. Therefore, it is important for an individual to recognise the signs of toxic friendships in order to protect themselves from their potentially negative influence and help to investigate the impact of toxic relationships on mental health (Rahimah et al., 2022).