I am an abusive friend

Hello there,
I've been aware of this for a while but I haven't been sure of what to do about it until just now. I've just had a girl I considered one of my best friends decide to stop talking to me entirely because I'm very stressful to talk to. My friends and I often have extensive heated arguments over simple things and I've had several friends leave me in the past year or so due to the stress this causes. I like to see myself as someone with good morals and a level head and I absolutely hate that I do this to people. My friends all mean the world to me and I'm tired of hurting them but I don't know what to do.
Please help.

Welcome PaulJason ,

I try to sit down when I'm calm and centered and take a look at the way I interact with people sometimes . There was a time in my life when I felt it was very important to me to be right . This usually ended up with me doggedly trying to convince people why they were wrong . Needless to say , most of my friends didn't appreciate that . I've since learned to offer my opinion tactfully and then let it go .

You don't say what it is you are doing that is turning people off but you seem to have a good idea of the problem . All we can do is try to change the negative behavior in our lives . It doesn't happen overnight but if we keep at it and try to be aware of how we are speaking to others , it is possible to make positive changes . It takes time but it's worth it .