Toxic Friends on Shine

Friend or Foe: My BFF ratted me out to my husband

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Dear Friend or Foe, My so-called best friend—“Leslie”—apparently didn’t agree with the way I was going about leaving my husband. So she thought it wise to e-mail me, and CC him, about all the things I was doing that she disapproved of. To say the e-mail was harsh is an understatement. She brought up stuff that was clearly meant to be private. Her defense: "You told me that you told him everything. It’s not my fault if you were lying." At the time, I considered her behavior to be nothing less than malicious ...

9 signs your friend is toxic

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Susan Shapiro Barash, author of Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck in Complicated Friendships, on how to tell when your friendship is unhealthy … and how to disengage.

The colloquial term "frenemy" was coined to describe a complicated relationship wherein a person causes a friend such pain and anguish that there is a blur between this person being your "friend" or "enemy." Why is it so hard to tell the difference between the two opposite words that society had to create a fuzzy word to describe a shade of gray? For one, our parents didn’t raise us with built-in "bad friend sensors" because our girlfriends are different to us than they were to our mothers or grandmothers, explains Susan Shapiro Barash, a nationally regarded gender expert and author of Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck in Complicated Friendships , an upcoming tome on dealing with female relationships.

Momversation: Toxic Friendships

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On Monday, she's your best friend; by Tuesday, she won't return your calls. She's your frenemy... you know, your friend-slash-enemy. But do you really need her in your life? Dana Loesch of Mamalogues asks our panelists, including guest Karen Walrond of chookooloonks.com, "How do you handle a toxic friend?"

Have you had a frenemy? Do you currently? Do you think people should cut toxic friends out of their lives or try to repair the relationships? Join the Momversation by commenting in the forums below:

Please help - what's the best way to get rid of a "toxic friend??"

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I've been friends with "Emily" for going on 20 years (we are both 29 now) and i'm at my wit's end. Though Emily and i have certainly had some good times, her negativity and depression continue to drag me down. She is one of those constant complainers (someone who can see the bad in almost any...