Family is supposed to be supportive and encouraging, helping you get through life's toughest times and coming out okay on the other side, but this is a fantasy for many people. The reality is that some of the most poisonous people in the world come disguised as family members and close relatives. These individuals are negative, they will be the first to talk bad about you when you are absent, and they are anything but encouraging and supportive. Life is hard enough without having pretenders around you, even if these pretenders are family members as well. Cutting the negative relatives loose is more difficult, because they are part of your family and there are certain expectations that must be met. This does not mean that you have to let a poisonous family member devastate your life though.

If you have a family member who seems to poison everything that they touch, or who always has negative things to say instead of looking at the positive side of life, then you have a responsibility to yourself to minimize contact with these relatives. When you are at family functions where you must be in the same place as a poisonous relative you can make it clear that there are certain boundaries that must be respected. If the family member can not respect these boundaries then they will be responsible for the consequences. If a family member is toxic then you do not have to allow this toxicity to affect your life, even if it means cutting them out of your life permanently. Sometimes this is the only way to maintain your own positive mental state and peace of mind.