Should I cull toxic friends from my life?

First, let’s count the ways a friend can be toxic. Selfabsorbed: nods along while you talk, but only because they’re waiting for you to stop so they can bring the chat back to them (if it ever really left). Energy vampire: this one needs handling with kid gloves – and they’re always the victim. Or, finally, just dull as fuck: you’d never become friends with them if you met them now, but you went to school/college/ uni/work/raves with them back in the day and you kinda feel obliged to keep them in your life. If you think that some of your social circle is less than delivering, it’s time to Konmari them. Sure, you could pull them aside and be all ‘this is what I need from my friends right now’ and see how they react. But we’d hazard a guess they wouldn’t quite get it. So we’re calling 2017 the Year of the Friendship Cull. It’s quality over quantity that counts. Cull your toxic friends; offload them. Think of it as ‘exfoliating your social scene’. How you choose to go about it is totally up to you – be honest, drop subtle hints or adopt the ‘gradual phase out’ – just do it. You’ll feel so liberated. Then you can devote more time to the friends who deserve your attention.

Or, you know, yourself.