Everyone has that one friend who is always the first to complain in any situation. These people bring negativity into our lives, and the social networking craze allows us to hear about how much they hate their job, their car, their doctor, their doctor’s car, along with everything else, even more than ever.

People are aware of whether they are being negative, whether or not they admit to it. While it would not do too much harm to tell your friend they are bringing you down, chances are you will just become the newest material they use when complaining to someone else. The company you keep reflects strongly on your character, both to others and to the way you see yourself, so if your friend’s negativity becomes a problem the best solution might be to walk the other way. The fact of the matter is that these attention seeking serial complainers are unlikely to listen to what anyone has to say about their negativity, but will latch on to you for as long as you let them.

If we could think of any better reason to get rid of them besides being a total downer, they would have disappeared from our lives and our Twitter feeds long ago. Instead, because they have never wronged us, we shake our heads in false sympathy and wish them a speedy recovery from the eighth case of the rare and mysterious three-hour long flu they have contracted this month, all conveniently corresponding with important meetings at work. The most frustrating thing about negative people is not just that they see the worst in everything, but that they oftentimes create their own half-empty glass in the first place. The fact is, for some reason people do this because they want something to complain about. There is a thrill or a rush to playing the victim of circumstances outside of their control, and the last thing they want is for the flow of sympathy to stop. Essentially telling a negative person they are being negative is like telling a drunk person that they are acting drunk.

It is important to realize that just because a person has not actively done anything wrong to you, does not mean they have not impacted you negatively in any way. A friend who is too busy dwelling on all the negatives in their life does not have the time to be a good and attentive friend to you, and they also more than likely cause you to focus on the negatives in your life more than you should as well. As they say, misery loves company, and that is the best reason it may be a good idea to keep a Debbie Downer at a distance. With all that time you spend commiserating with your miserable buddy, you could be out having a much better time with a friend who makes you feel happier, not grumpier than you did before you met up. Life is too short to keep friends you actually hate spending time with, and there is no reason you need a better excuse than that.