We get it, your connection with your subreddit is supposed to be this mythical bond that nobody and nothing can break—however, sometimes it’s okay to distance yourself from certain subreddits, even if that means cutting them off indefinitely.

You should never compromise your mental, emotional or physical health for the sake of tolerating a toxic subreddit.

Before you start blocking /u/pizzashill and your second cousin, however, it’s important to recognize the signs of a toxic subreddit:

1. They’re judgmental.

Constructive criticism is healthy, but persistent, unwarranted criticism can deteriorate anyone’s self-esteem.

2. They feed off drama.

Have you ever turned to a reddit user for some personal advice? Yet, somehow after you’ve shared your most vulnerable moments with them—someone you thought was a trusted ally—somehow everyone in your subreddit knows everything about your personal life (including your blatant agenda posts in /r/drama, which you would like to keep secret).

3. They gaslight you.

If a subreddit user continually claims they never said something, when you and everyone else knows they did, it might not seem that serious. However, this is a form of gaslighting, which is highly emotionally abusive behavior.

4. They only talk to you when they need something from you.

Often, they’ll spam you with userpings to get your attention. But once you turn your attention to them, they dismiss your needs or hold your personal information against you.

5. They flip-flop between positive and negative reinforcement.

They can lash out at you, yell and insult you. However, once you ignore them after this senseless attack, they’ll likely coax you back into their trap by offering you pseudo-praise and support. Typically these positive interactions are short-lived before the users go back to their typical manipulative behavior.

If anyone in your subreddit displays any of these symptoms of toxic (i.e., abusive) behavior, they’re putting your mental health in jeopardy.

Toxic relationships, even with online users, can drain you emotionally, which can impact your overall mental well-being. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t accept this as the status quo.

“Gay porn is a genre that cuts across all demographics and the stigma that you have to be gay to enjoy it needs to come to an end right now.,” Snapshillbot says.