Jealousy that goes unnoticed or ignored can turn into toxic behavior that can transform your friend so drastically that you may not even recognize it anymore.
The problem here is that most people hide these feelings deep down and it’s hard for us to tell if they are jealous of us or not. Fortunately, there are a few ways to tell if your friend has negative feelings towards you.
A jealous friend can easily knock you down, and we want you to see the signs before things start to go sideways.
They Compliment You With An Insult
If your friend is jealous of you, they will do their best to support you, attacking you with praise. But pay attention to what they say, because you may go the wrong way. Be careful with passive-aggressive expressions.
For example, you may have gotten a new job and your friend praises you saying, “This is amazing, but it’s unusual that they hire people with so little experience, but congratulations.”
They Gloat At Your Mistakes
Even if it’s a mistake you made a long time ago, or you just faced a loss, your jealous friend will be the first to tell you, “I told you so.”
They can feel happy and satisfied when you experience failure. Anyone who takes pleasure in the failure of others is not someone you want to be with.
They Gossip About You
Sometimes even your friend doesn’t realize that they are jealous of you. It will probably start with a feeling of “disgust”, especially if you get something that they always wanted for them.
This way, you can begin to hear from others that your “friend” is spreading not-so-good news about you. They like to put you down in front of others so they look better than you.
If you decide to confront your friend about this, they will probably have an excuse, such as saying that you have become “different” or “arrogant.”
They Tell You That You’re Lucky
It is understandable to say, “Oh, you’re lucky”, in positive contexts (like when you win a game). But if your friend says you got lucky just because they hired you for a position that they know you worked hard for, that’s not a good sign.
It can also apply to the state of your relationship, especially if you have a good partner.
It’s not out of love, that person is just jealous of you. They are probably doing this to feel better.
They Diminish Your Achievements
A jealous friend is likely to feel bad about themselves, so they’ll downgrade your achievements. If you have good news, they may start looking for something negative to say to make you feel like you don’t deserve it.
Something like, “Don’t celebrate yet, we still have a few more exams for the end of the year.”
There is another way that a jealous friend can lessen the importance of your success. They can comment on something while emphasizing the fact that they have more than you.
For example, they might say, “I once got the highest score on a topic that was much more difficult than this.”
They Always Want To Be Around You
While there are envious people who will try to avoid you, there are others who will try to be with you every second.
In fact, some research has concluded that this jealousy can bring people together, but not in a good way. It is not the same as being with a true friend.
When a jealous friend tries to follow you around, it will appear that they are chasing you.
For example, if you are in a social setting and peek to see them, you will notice that they will quickly look away.
They will really try to feed off your qualities and take them for themselves, and it becomes an obsession.
Have you seen these signs in someone you date? Do you know other signs that can reveal if a friend is jealous?
