"I cut off toxic people. I protect my energy. I don't do drama." Meanwhile, they have no friends from 2022. Their "cut off" list is longer than their contact list. Their "protection" is a fortress with a moat. Their "no drama" is a drama production company with them as CEO, director, and lead actor. The toxicity detector is often the most toxic person in the room. They spot "red flags" in everyone. They diagnose "narcissism" in exes. They identify "gaslighting" in every disagreement. The vocabulary is clinical. The application is personal. The projection is massive. And the pattern! Every friendship ends the same way. "They showed their true colors." Every relationship fails the same way. "They were emotionally unavailable." Every job ends the same way. "The environment was toxic." The common denominator is never them. It can't be. They're the one who "protects their energy." But the isolation! The fortress becomes a prison. The moat becomes a barrier. The "cut off" becomes loneliness. The toxicity detector has detected everyone and found no one clean enough to stay. The cleanest person in a dirty room is still alone. Have you been cut off by a toxicity detector? Or have you caught yourself being one?
