Stop calling people ‘toxic’. Here’s why | Hannah Baer

Believing others have fixed traits which don't change yields defensiveness, failure to listen, and failure to set boundaries

Over the past few years I've noticed a rise in the label toxic" as a response to difficult or destructive behavior. Media outlets from Psychology Today to Harvard Business Review run articles on how to identify or avoid toxic people. Politicians like Mitch McConnell use the term to describe their adversaries. Even academic psychologists have begun to take up the language.

Related: It's time to rethink what loneliness is | Miriam Kirmayer