How To Deal With Manipulation?

Ever felt like you’ve been in control of others?

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t make decisions on your own?

If so, then you might have been manipulated by another person.

Someone who manipulates you is aware of your weaknesses and will utilize them.

If the person manipulating you is receiving what they want, the manipulation will continue until you decide it needs to stop and deliberately and consciously put an end to it. It is recommended that you seek help if you are engaging with someone who is consistently manipulative.

In manipulative behavior, mental distortions and emotional manipulation are used to influence and control others. Their goal is to gain power and influence over people to achieve their goals.

What is Manipulation?

Manipulation is a term used to define tactics that indirectly influence or control another person. A manipulator can try to control the emotions, behavior, and decisions of the person being manipulated. Manipulation can likewise have different and more complex outcomes, such as emotional, verbal, or physical abuse.

Some individuals might resort to manipulation because of their anxiety and deep-seated fears to control their environment. Manipulation can also be seen as a type of defence mechanism where the manipulator tries to hide their insecurities and to control others’ views towards them. The vast majority take part in intermittent manipulation. For instance, telling a friend you feel “just fine” when you are discouraged is, in fact, a type of manipulation since it controls your friend’s view of and responses to you.

Impact Of Psychological And Emotional Manipulation

The impact of manipulation can hamper the relationship victims share with the manipulator and also the people around them. All of this may count as emotional abuse at some point.

Manipulation can be a way of meeting the emotional needs of people with Borderline Personality Disorder or Narcissistic Personality, as in that way they can keep the other person attached to them, but certainly not in a healthy way. It can often result in gaslighting, where the victims question and doubt themselves. This is particularly valid for individuals who don’t look for help from an expert. Mental manipulation can prompt issues with closeness, trust, care, and security, just to give some examples.

Momentary Effects

Surprise and disarray – feeling like whatever is going on can’t in any way be true. Questioning why the individual who has been a companion or adored one is currently going about as a total outsider.
Questioning self – you may wind up contemplating whether you truly recall things right or if something isn’t right with you. This is a consequence of all that you do being addressed, or being informed that you recollect things wrong and the manipulative party is correct. This may further cause shame and guilt.
Anxiety and cautiousness – to stay away from future manipulation, you may become hypervigilant toward yourself as well as other people. This is a method for maintaining a strategic distance from practices that may cause trouble, or searching for behaviour in others that highlights an outbreak.
Being aloof – as making a move can prompt more agony in a toxic relationship, being uninvolved can turn into the default. The person just isolates themself.
Walking on eggshells – not recognizing what can worsen the behaviour of the other individual can prompt speculation unnecessarily about each easily overlooked detail you do to guarantee you don’t irritate or outrage the manipulator.

Long-Term Effects Of Emotional Manipulation

Here are some long-term mental health effects of manipulation

Isolation and loneliness– avoiding situations and people to protect themselves can push one into isolation.
Requiring validation – this could mean being pleasant to everybody, being an accommodating person, and being centred around appearance, and there comes a sense of inadequacy.
Feeling angry – this can show dissatisfaction, restlessness, crabbiness, and fault. There comes a sense of resentment.
Excessive judging – you may wind up looking for what others are doing and holding individuals, including yourself, to unrealistic expectations. This is a method for feeling in charge after not being in charge.
Emotional turmoil and uneasiness – following manipulation or another psychological mistreatment, there are endless lies that have been informed that you can frequently trust yourself. Notwithstanding, fortunately, it tends to be mended, after some time.

Types of Manipulative Behaviour

There are numerous ways in which a manipulator will look for power by abusing other people. A portion of these are incredibly normal and might be natural on the off chance that you have ever been in a circumstance like this. Regular strategies incorporate data retention, gaslighting, accusing the person in question, disgracing, limiting the sentiments of others, and lying. The majority of the signs are as follows:

Evading Responsibility

An individual who is trying to control you will regularly abstain from assuming liability for their actions. Instead of taking responsibility for circumstances and activities, the manipulator will endeavour to turn the circumstances so that something you did prompted the issue, which means they gaslight you.

Denying Promises Done Before

Somebody who controls you may vow to accomplish something or offer a promise when asked something, but they will never do what they said they would. Nonetheless, if you bring this up, it will be turned around on you. They will swear that you didn’t comprehend what they said and that you are being careless or silly. This can prompt you to doubt yourself and your memory.

Manipulating by inducing guilt

Instead of taking part in straightforwardly forceful conduct, they may decide to utilize inactive animosity. A case of this may be something like, “It’s fine on the off chance that you go out with your colleagues.” I’ll simply remain here at home alone and tidy up the house. ” This causes you to feel awful and places them in the function of the touchy casualty who needs to surrender everything to you. They may give quiet treatment and act passively.

Overlooking Your Problems

As opposed to understanding you and any issues you might be managing, a manipulator may utilize an opportunity to discuss their issues. For example, on the off chance that you grumble about fighting with a relative, this may transform into a lecture about how, in any event, you have a family to fight with or how their battles with their relatives happen significantly more frequently, so you ought to be grateful.

Outrage and Aggression

Terrorizing is something many manipulative individuals depend on. This might be an outrage, subtle provocations, or forceful actions or language.

Looking for the Trusting

Manipulators regularly seek out individuals who are weak, touchy or trusting. They realize these individuals are more powerless against the manipulation and less inclined to end it.

Why do People Manipulate?

There are numerous reasons that individuals decide to control others and these can vary depending on the individual. The vast majority take part in manipulation on occasion, yet the individuals who use manipulation regularly share a few characteristics among themselves.

Feelings of helplessness, sadness, or uselessness.
Fear of being deserted.
Need for force and command over others.
Need to raise confidence.

What To Do About A Manipulator

Numerous individuals become mindful that they are being controlled yet don’t know how to deal with the circumstance. The primary thing to remember is to consistently consider your security regardless of anything else. Nonetheless, there are a couple of recommended approaches to more readily understand the other individual and their motivations that can be tried.

Be immediate- Try not to take an interest in circumstances that heighten the manipulation when you can support it.
Do not share how they make you feel, those sentiments will probably be misused later.
If the other individual compromises you, get some information about it instead of staying away from the circumstance.

Basic Characteristics Of Victims

Individuals who attach their self-esteem to addressing the needs of others are a typical casualty type. Manipulators are attracted to this kind of individual as they are easy to control and blame.

People who struggle to disapprove of others are also typical kind of manipulator to go after. On the off chance that you dodge strife, that permits the manipulator to do what they need without stressing over any consequences.

Individuals who experience difficulty communicating negative feelings will normally maintain a strategic distance from a showdown and keep things upbeat regardless. All things considered, manipulators now and again search these individuals out as dangers might be everything necessary to get whatever it is they need.

Approaches To Deal With Manipulation

While we have just referenced approaches to working with a manipulative individual, there are likewise things you can do yourself to raise your confidence too. Having a higher self-assurance will assist you in battling against a manipulator before they can harm your general prosperity. If you are currently attempting to escape from a manipulative relationship or condition, follow these tips and rules underneath.

Understand and know what is happening around you. Re-read the above material and search for things referenced so you realize how to get them whenever around. Know about how manipulation functions and where it leads.
Listen to yourself and your emotions. On the off chance that you feel self-questioning or confounded, know about that and consider why you are feeling that way. Focus on what the manipulative individual is doing or saying and how that influences you.
Pay more attention to actions than words. Try not to accept that when somebody says something, it’s real or it will be followed upon. Watch for what somebody does rather and put together your feelings concerning that.
Understand that you are not the issue. On the off chance that you have acknowledged you are being controlled, that isn’t your flaw. Know that you didn’t do anything wrong to cause it and that the other individual has their issues. Nonetheless, don’t let this lead to compassion, just mindfulness.
Be decisive for yourself.
Reach out to your support system.

How Therapy Can Help?

On the off chance that you have been experiencing an unhealthy relationship, simply realize you are not the defaulter and you don’t merit that sort of treatment. For those experiencing depression, and anxiety after escaping a toxic relationship, simply realize that it is alright to look for treatment and therapy. After all, we all deserve to be happy.

Therapy can help address the issue of manipulation from both the manipulator’s and the victim’s perspective. Some people who manipulate are not even aware of their actions and if they are invading others’ boundaries. So, therapy can help the person address that issue and adopt better ways to communicate with others.

For a victim, therapy can help in understanding why they are stuck in the cycle of manipulation and how they can bounce back and address the issues as victims sometimes question their own life when they face this abuse. Online therapy can also help in addressing the trauma which might have been caused because of manipulative behaviour directed at them.

Seeking help is a sign of courage. Don't let self-limiting beliefs hold you back from a life you deserve. Avail online therapy to become happier and better. Learn how