Sadly, bitchy drama doesn’t stay in middle school where it belongs. Like acne, confusing sexual tension, backstabbing jerks and pushy authority figures, it can easily follow you into adulthood. But don’t lose help! There are things you can do to transcend this crap and immunize yourself. If you really want to leave the immature BS behind, do the following:
- Ditch social media. Talking to someone through a screen instead of face-to-face gives people temporary balls of steel that they don’t actually have in real life. These winners are more inclined to say terrible, bitchy things online because sitting in front of a computer gives them a sense of anonymity that makes them feel invincible. Because of this, social media can easily turn into a giant, festering cesspool full of blithering idiots who are more boring than they are bored. An atmosphere like that is the perfect breeding ground for drama to start, grow and explode. You don’t need this in your life. Just quit social media. You’ll marvel at all the extra time you suddenly have to go outside and stuff.
- Cut out toxic people. You don’t really have control over your boss or your coworkers, but you do have control over the people in your personal life. If one of your “friends” does nothing but cause trouble for you, cut him/her out of your life. Friends should buy you pizza and do embarrassing drunk things with you at 3 a.m., not make your life difficult. Unless you get some kind of sick thrill from incessant BS, there’s no reason to keep needy drama queens in your life.
- Put your phone down. Smartphones are amazing, but having that constant connection to absolutely everything can get unbelievably stressful. You can become a full-blown hermit and isolate yourself in a cave, but drama and BS can still find you if your phone is in your vicinity. Shut your phone off every now and then and relax. Disconnect from the digital world and pay attention to the actual world for a while. There are pretty mountains and cute, furry animals out there.
- Keep your own behavior in check. If drama seems to follow you everywhere you go, you’re probably part of the problem. Don’t start crap and don’t exacerbate things. Feeling a powerful urge to get involved in every verbal skirmish you come across is not healthy. Life is hard enough as it is — there’s no reason to make it even more difficult on purpose. Just leave and don’t look back, like a badass action star walking away from an explosion in slow motion.
- Have a “zero tolerance” policy towards hoopla in your love life. Don’t sit around and let childish things build up and intensify over time when you’re dating. If all you see is red flags in a guy, end it. Life is too short for bad relationships and the tsunami of sewage that comes with them. There are amazing, stable people out there that will be a great match for you — you just have to put effort into finding them instead of waiting for your “dream guy” to swoop in and do all the work.
- Keep the gossip to a minimum. Gossip invites drama and BS inside with open arms and a tray full of hot chocolate. Gossiping behind someone’s back makes you a jerk, not a social butterfly. If your life is so boring and empty that you feel the need to diss your own friends when they’re not around, perhaps it’s time to find a more fulfilling hobby, like furious masturbation or pottery.
- Shut up about your exes. Ripping on your latest ex-boyfriend might seem like a good way to blow off steam, but it just makes you look like a jackass. He may have been a terrible person with even worse qualities, but at the same time, you’re the one who chose to date that kind of person. Venting to your friends once or twice is OK, but never shutting up about it is going to make you look like a clueless 13-year-old girl bitching to her friends in the hallway between classes. Move on from the breakup gracefully and leave the stereotypical drama behind.
