Toxic friendships are rife in Teenagehood, and you're never very far from getting stuck in them. Trust me, I've been in about five in the past few years, and you're blinded by them so much that you think it's okay. The signs that you're in a toxic friendship are these:

• you lose yourself, and fit the mould that your friend/s have made for you.

• you isolate yourself in this friendship and don't speak to others.

• you believe that you are most happiest in this friendship despite the fact that they make you feel like sh*t.

• you find yourself doing things you never would before, things you're not comfortable with.

If you read these and see yourself in them, then it's time to get out. But the problem is, even though they make you feel like crap and have made you lose all your other friends, you still want to keep them close. But there's a difference between remaining close with someone and remaining under their power. The first step to getting out of a toxic friendship is to make new friends and keep them, and this is a sure sign to your toxic friend that you are not under their power anymore.

Begin to slowly distance yourself, whether that be hanging out less, being less submissive to them, or downright telling them that you're not going to play their games anymore. It is a slow process to leave a toxic friendship, because mentally you are already so used to it. The way to avoid toxic people is to look out for the signs early on, and keep them at arms length you know. You can still be friends with these type of people, but don't let them poison you.

So rule fifty two of surviving Teenagehood: ignore Britney Spears when it comes to this one, you do not want to slip under.