There are stories of people with bullets in their head who don’t even know it. Many more people are living with toxic friendships without even knowing it. Knowing the 8 signs of a toxic friendship can help you avoid them. Dr. Sharon Livingston is founder and president of The Livingston Group for Marketing, Inc., a brand marketing research company that implements projective techniques to discover and strengthen the relationship between Fortune 100 products and their consumers. Sharon also wrote “Get Lost Girlfriend: How I Found Myself When My Best Friend Dumped Me”. In spite of her professional success, Sharon found herself in a toxic friendship — a friendship she treasured turned out to be deeply harmful. Turning to business principles in branding and working on her own personal brand, she learned new ways to care for herself emotionally. Sharon has determined that toxic friendships are identifiable, that you CAN heal and protect yourself from poisonous people in the future. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx