I see eye to eye with Allison Ives when she wrote that spending a lot of time with an insecure person can lower your self-esteem as well. I especially like when she says, " We aren't warned about poisonous people like we are about poisonous chemicals." In an effort to increase a friend's self confidence I began to see a decrease in mine., just as she did. I felt that the only thing that boosted her self-confidence was making me feel insecure. But how can you just shut someone out of your life? Wouldn't that make matters worse? Wouldn't the only way to stop secondhand insecurity be to help the insecure?

I appreciate Allison taking the time to write this piece because it showed me that there are others dealing with the same situation and it gives me hope that one day the suffering will end.