Jealous people are the worst for so many reasons. They act all friendly to your face, then talk badly about you behind your back. It’s toxic and you don’t need that drama in your life, so you need to be able to spot those sneaky, jealous vibes so you can protect yourself. Here are 15 messed-up things a jealous person might do to try and bring you down.
1. They criticize you in a “funny” way.
Someone who’s jealous of you might not be super direct and honest about how they feel — they’ll be working from the shadows. So, they might be criticizing you all the time, but in a way that pretends to be humorous. You’ll know because you definitely won’t be laughing at their comments.
2. They challenge your opinions.
If you’ve decided to chase a new passion or career and you’re excited about it, your jealous friend might try to challenge or put down your choice. So, they might ask you if it’s a good idea to risk a lower income or if you should engage in a frivolous hobby. Don’t let them make you doubt yourself!
3. They love to showcase their success.
iStock/JLco - Julia Aramal
A person who’s jealous will want to display their success whenever they get an opportunity. If they’re talking about winning a marathon, they’ll bring out all their medals. If they just got engaged, they’ll share tons of pics of their huge rock. They have to showboat in order to make themselves feel superior.
4. They mask sarcasm as humor.
Instead of being direct, someone who’s eaten by the jealousy bug might use sarcasm to mock you. So, they might ask “Really?” when you mention something you succeeded at, or they’ll remark, “Wow, how wonderful” even though it’s clear their reaction isn’t genuine.
5. They copy you, then do you one better.
If someone’s jealous of you, they might try to mirror your actions or behaviors, but then they’ll then take it one step further by outshining you. If you get a cool haircut, they’ll get a trendier one. If you move into a new office space, they’ll have one with sprawling views of the city’s rooftops.
6. They love it when you make a mistake.
Jealous people secretly love it when you mess up. They’re not going to offer any support, just a smug look that says, “See, you’re not so great after all!” They’ll probably even toss in some judgey comment about how they saw it coming.
7. They don’t respond to your attempts at connection.
It’s incredibly frustrating when you’re trying to have a real, heartfelt conversation with someone and all you get in return is a smirk or sarcastic smile. It completely dismisses your feelings and makes it impossible to connect on a deeper level.
8. They dish out fake concern.
Although the person in your life with jealous tendencies might seem to have your best interests at heart, they don’t actually care about you. You’ll notice this by how they pretend to be concerned about you/things going on in your life. They might just be asking you about whatever challenge you’re experiencing so they can feel better about themselves.
9. They “forget” important events in your life.
You tell them about your big presentation or an important family event, and they completely “forget” about it. Even after multiple reminders! It’s a subtle way to undermine you and make you feel like what you do doesn’t matter. Don’t let them get away with that kind of passive-aggressive BS.
10. They look upset when you’re happy.
Jealousy can make a person struggle to be happy for you. Although they might express happiness for you when you succeed at something, they’ll show that they’re actually not happy. You might notice that their eyes are narrowed or they’re forcing their smile to stay on their face.
11. They ignore you when other people are around.
When someone’s got a bone to pick with you and the issue is their jealousy, they might try to one-up you by ignoring you in group settings. Maybe they isolate you from the conversation or they totally ignore you when you speak, acting as if they haven’t heard or they’re not interested in anything you have to say. In this way, they can downplay your role in the group and make themselves seem more important.
12. They take credit for your ideas.
You crack a brilliant joke and your friend uses it at hers. You post an insightful message on social media and they cut and paste it into their own status instead of sharing it. Someone who’s jealous might always try to pass off your amazing ideas as their own— they have no shame!
13. They tune out your feelings.
Someone in your life who’s jealous of you will downplay or dismiss how you’re feeling at every available opportunity, whether by accusing you of being too sensitive or by acting like what you’re saying is no big deal. Or, they might think your life’s perfect so you don’t have anything to worry about, even though this isn’t the case.
14. Their compliments are fake.
You might hear a few nice things from the jealous person in your life, but they’re all insincere. They probably give you backhanded compliments pretty often, as well. For example, they’ll say something like, “I love that shirt! I’m not used to seeing you in anything other than sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt!”
15. They bring your achievements down a notch.
When you succeed at something huge, such as passing an exam, getting a work visa, or buying a house, the person will try to downplay it. They might act like it’s no big deal by looking surprised that you’re even mentioning it. Or, they’ll ask you a ton of questions to chip away at what an amazing accomplishment it really is.
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