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Do you think that you are stuck in a relationship with someone who has been consistently manipulating you emotionally? With so much going around, the last thing you want is to get manipulated by someone with no cause. Finding ways to stop emotional manipulation can help you recover from this to an extent.
All that being said, if you have been struggling to keep your head above the water because of the impending guilt and such, chances are that there is someone who is making it hard for you.
In here, we are going to be suggesting some of the best ways to protect yourself from emotional manipulation for a better recovery.
What is Emotional Manipulation?
Emotional manipulation is the tactic leveraged by several people to use and play mind games on people to get the upper hand on a relationship.
Often times, people who are emotionally manipulative will tend to say or do things to guilt the other person about the same.
The ulterior motive of the manipualators is to end up using the acquired power to control people around them.
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It is very important that one sees the signs of being manipulated because not recognizing the signs can make it quite harder for the person to recover once it has reached to the far end of the road.
Signs of Emotional Manipulation
When it comes to the reasons for emotional manipulation, the possibilities are several. It could be because someone wants to gain control over you or it could also be because of the fact that they aren’t able to handle the kind of freedom that you are expressing around.
The Possibilities are Endless.
It is completely up to you to understand what kind of signs that you are experiencing that could depict the possibility of emotional manipulation.
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If you have been struggling with this, chances are that you need immediate and better help to get you through the shortcomings altogether. Let us take a look at some of the most important signs, shall we?
Getting Too Close Too Quickly
Emotional manipulators have the tendency to end up getting too close to you in record time. This is something that might not seem alarming at first but it actually is one that you need to look out for.
If you have been witnessing someone you just met walking over the barriers of “getting to know you”, chances are that these kinds of people have the tendency to manipulate people for the worse.
People who manipulate you emotionally will try and narrate their deepest darkest secrets with you in the hope that you will reciprocate that emotion. Once they know something that haunts you, they use that against you to beat your emotions and control you.
Twisting Facts
If you are finding someone consistently twisting your words, chances are that they could be emotional manipulators.
If you say A and the person tries twists the words to perceive the same as C, chances are that they are making you feel guilty about it, thus making it hard for you to “feel bad” for them in the process.
They also try to pull themselves down in a conversation to try and gain your vote of sympathy through it.
Intellectual Bullying
Not many people are aware of this but this is actually one of the most important factors that you need to look out for.
If you have someone who is trying to confuse you with jargons, statistic and high tech knowledge trying to prove their point and make you seem dumb in front of them, chances are that they are manipulating you emotionally. It is very important that you understand if someone is doing this to you and stand up against them.
People trying to tell you that you aren’t smart enough to understand this is a way of them trying to demean you and emotionally manipulate you.
Trying to Impose Power
Yet another one of the important ways to identify the sign of emotional manipulation is when you find someone who is trying to justify their power in your life.
If you have someone who is consistently trying to showcase their power on you, it is time to make changes to that.
Manipulators often do have the tendency to end up making it hard for you to keep the prospect of grounding in check.
If you find yourself trying to justify their power in your life, chances are that they are trying to do so with emotional manipulation.
Make you Feel Bad When You Retort
If you have been experiencing emotional manipulation for a long period of time, chances are that you are going to break one day.
The day that you retort, is the day that they will start making you feel guilty and bad that you did voice out your opinions. This is one of the most common reasons why it is important that you understand the signs beforehand and not let it get the best of you.
If you find yourself being guilty and feeling awkward about voicing out your opinions, chances are that the same is one of the reasons for emotional manipulation.
Surrounded By Negativity
Emotional manipulators have the tendency to make everything around them negative.
They have the strong will not be able to see someone happy around them which is what brings us to the next point that you are bound to experience negativity around you with such emotional manipulators.
Chances are that their own unhappiness is what drives them to make others unhappy. If that is the case, it is very important that you cut off such people out of your life because they bring you nothing good in your life.
Having Someone Act Like a Martyr
When you find someone to bring in past doings just to prove their superiority, chances are that they are trying to emotionally manipulate you.
If you know someone around who is trying to do that, it is important that you understand the signs and overcome them for your own good.
If someone is trying to guilt you into doing things, it is best suggested that you don’t let them make you feel like a burden overall. Doing so will give them a leeway to exploit around with your emotions.
Being Rude
Often times, emotional manipulators have the tendency to pass up their rude or snide remarks as “jokes”.
If you have been experiencing something similar, it is best suggested to ensure that you take the time out to assess the shortcomings and find better ways to cope with the same.
They don’t take the Blame for Their Mistakes
Accountability isn’t something that you will find in the dictionary of an emotional manipulator.
If you find someone making you feel constantly guilty about something that you aren’t even part of, chances are that it is a sign of emotional manipulation.
They will drive you to such an extent that you will most probably end up apologizing for a mistake that you had no part to play in.
Ultimatums
How often do you find someone says “You need to decide now, pick me or pick him.”
Happens quite often, doesn’t it?
In such cases, it is important that you see this as a sign and not let it get the best of you. The best way to recovery from this is to ensure that you stop giving someone the upper hand to use any kind of ultimatum on you.
How to Deal with Emotional Manipulation?
Finding ways to stop emotional manipulation isn’t the easiest. Given that you are bound to experience such prospective downfall, it is best suggested that you find the recovery ways faster than before.
It isn’t a very easy process, far from it.
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But, with the correct guidance and the correct ways, recovery isn’t that tough as you might feel it to be.
Some of the best ways to stop emotional manipulation tactics include:
1. Stop Trying to Sugarcoat Anything
If you know your emotional manipulator, chances are that you will know how well they twist around the words.
This is the last thing you want.
If you want to recover better, it is very important to ensure that you do focus on preventing from sugarcoating anything.
It goes without saying that the process isn’t going to be the easiest but something is also better than nothing, right?
Manipulators will always try to portray their vision as the correct one, overruling every other possibility. This is the thing that you need to make changes to.
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If you want to stand up to your manipulator, it is important that you give back the words to them the way they are meant to be. Don’t sugarcoat anything because it won’t leave you anywhere.
2. Don’t Let Them Gaslight You
Yet another one of the ways to stop emotional manipulation is to prevent your manipulator from gaslighting you.
Emotional manipulators have the tendency to say something one moment and then completely deny it the next. This is a form of gaslighting that you can easily avoid if you have a firm belief around your facts.
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Don’t let the lack of judgement cloud your senses and if you have someone constantly tell you one thing one moment and then something else, the next, it is time to take the necessary action to fight back through the issue.
One of the best ways to do so is maintaining a journal sorted out by dates. When you do this, chances are that you wouldn’t have to worry about believing in someone else’s story when you have your own laid out.
3. Don’t fall into their trap
Manipulators have the tendency to make you fall into their trap, making it tough for them to handle the shortcomings. All they want is to have control on your life.
The best way to keep that in control is by not letting yourself fall into the trap. It isn’t that tough as you might think but the only thing you need to do is to stay alert.
Emotional manipulators tend to enjoy getting a rise out of you which is why you need to not give them that satisfaction at all. It is very important that you thus focus on not letting them get the satisfaction out in the end.
When they find that their manipulation isn’t working on you, chances are that they will leave you alone in the end once they are done with the constant hustle.
4. The illusion of help
Emotional manipulators the epitome of helpful. They will lend you a helping hand whenever you need it or ask for it. This is the very first red flag that you need to pay close attention to.
If you find someone who is way more than willing to do something for you but then end up leveraging this to gain power over you, it is time to let go off of such people.
In case a manipulator said yes into doing something, don’t let them use that to their advantage, instead use it to your advantage and manipulate them for the better impacts.
If there is something that the other person doesn’t want to do, make them be clear about it right from the get go instead of beating around the bush.
5. Steer clear or avoid them
If you know that someone is trying to emotionally manipulate you, it is important that you steer clear off of them.
It is very hard to make a manipulator understand of the consequences. So, one of the best ways to protect yourself from emotional manipulation is to avoid them as much as you can.
This might seem tough to master but it isn’t impossible, per say.
Emotional manipulators are hard to gauge.
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You won’t be able to understand that they are bad until and unless you have experienced things that prove them to be manipulators through and through.
If the same is at your workplace, find ways to swerve through them and interact with them the least as possible.
6. Don’t let them guilt you
Emotional manipulators have the tendency to make you feel guilty about things that you had no hand in. The best way to overcome that is by ensuring that you don’t let them have that power over you. Try to find different ways to stop emotional manipulation.
If they still try to guilt you, overcome the consequences. Don’t let them tell you something that will leave you tense and in a constant dilemma.
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If you know that you didn’t do anything wrong, stand by it and make sure that the manipulator knows not to mess around with you.
If you find yourself saying sorry quite too often, it is important that you stand up for yourself and not them the other person demean you.
7. Don’t let them make your problems seem small
Emotional manipulators often have the tendency to make your problem seem small. The best way to combat that is by ensuring that you don’t let them get the upper hand.
If you find that they are trying to bring forth ways to minimize your problems as trivial, fight them back because your problems are just as important as the other ones.
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Manipulators have the tendency to make it seem like your problems aren’t the important one which is exactly what you need to change for good.
If you have issues, get a grip over the situation. It isn’t as easy as it might seem to be but it is important that you look out for the possible shortcomings around too.
8. Don’t trust people easily
Emotional manipulators tend to have the tendency of making you trust them easily. Don’t do that.
Not just with manipulators but with anyone in general. It is best suggested that you take your time testing out the people around you and if they turn out to be the way you want them to be, only them should you go and put your faith in them.
If they share a very dramatic story with you, don’t fall for it right off the bat. That is exactly what they want. Don’t do that. If you want to stop emotional manipulation tactics, it is important that you stop giving away your trust to just about anyone. This doesn’t help, even if you feel like it is what one should do naturally.
9. Call them out
Yet another one of the amazing ways to stop emotional manipulation is to ensure that you do call them out for good. If you have been stuck around in a situation where you are done with the constant conflict, give it back to the manipulator.
If you feel like they are constantly manipulating you into doing something, it is best suggested that you take the time out to call them out.
Don’t let it get the worst of you and make it hard for you to make everything meet because then it will be too late to react on.
Once you retort, it becomes a lot easier for you handle the emotional manipulation and find better ways to handle the situation around.
10. Don’t get attached to them
It is easier said than done but one of the most important ways to stop emotional manipulation tactics is by ensuring that you don’t get attached to it.
It is hard to know who do get attached to and who to avoid which is why it is best suggested that you take your time with getting to know people. When you jump headfirst into knowing someone, chances are that the same will end up making it hard for you to handle things through.
Take your time getting to know a person first and then see if they are worth the time or not. If you find them too good to be true, go around and walk away from them for your better mental health stability.
When it comes to the ways to stop emotional manipulation, the options are quite extensive. It goes without saying that the process isn’t that easy as you might think it is. It is all up to you to gauge the situation and find better ways to handle it before it gets worse than before.
