Yes, agreed, gaylegg.

They could also be people who simply are a complete drain on all your resources and energy. They are difficult to deal with, and they wipe you out.

And remember---toxic people quite often try to project their toxicity around on you, blaming you for the exact bad behaviours/ foul attitudes that they, in fact, possess. It's an extreme form of abuse, in my opinion, because it really messes with you.

It took me years to give myself permission to actually distance myself from the most toxic people I know (several individuals in my family). It was extremely helpful to be able to admit that they were in fact responsible for an awful lot of damage done in my life.

I don't hate them---but I certainly also don't give them opportunities to mess with my head anymore, either.

When I DO need to interact with them, I do a lot of "mindfullly responding" kind of things (being very careful what I say, and why), and I severely limit my exposure to them.