Manipulation comes in many forms, and they’re more common than you might think.
If you’re here, you may be feeling like it’s time to check yourself.
What does manipulation look like?
Manipulationis a mental tactic used to fool someone into doing what you want.
There are so many behaviors that can be considered manipulative, with varying degrees of severity.
“If you think you’re being manipulative, you probably are,” he adds.
Manipulation is all about trying to get a certain outcome.
Do you have a hard time not getting your way?
Rather than taking no for an answer, you’ll maneuver the situation to go your way.
You have a hard time directly voicing your needs.
It’s so hard being a single mom."
You project onto others.
It’s not uncommon to project our own insecurities and self-loathing onto another person.
Say you havetrust issues, so you think everyone is untrustworthy.
You lie.
Very obviously, lying is manipulation in true formand you should know when you’re doing it.
Hiding your truth is what manipulation is all about.
You make people feel guilty.
Manipulators are masters at guilt-tripping, Page says.
You don’t keep promises.
Yes, promises without follow-through are manipulation.
Or worse, you may have never intended to keep the promise.
You do nice thingswith expectations.
Doing nice things for other people certainly is not a bad thing.
You punish people when you don’t get your way.
Maybe your punishment style is withholding affection or posting somethingpassive-aggressiveon your Instagram story.
You’re overly persuasive.
Manipulation is in many ways a defense mechanism, Page says.
A therapist can help you with this, which both Barham and Page recommend.
If you’re in a relationship, Page notes,couples' therapyis also a good idea.
Because patterns of manipulation become habitual, it can be very difficult to rewire that circuitrybut not impossible.
With someinner work and healing, you might mitigate those behaviors and get your needs met without trickery.
