WHAT IS MANIPULATION

Manipulation is a behavior in which one person attempts to influence another person’s actions, thoughts, or emotions to serve their own interests, often at the expense of the other person.

A manipulator is a person who attempts to control the actions of a person for his own benefit, by using various methods.

In simple terms , A person who tries or controls someone for his own selfish needs, in a smart way which is hard to identify

It is necessary to identify these kind of people to prevent getting exploited, we will discuss some signs that can they generally show.

Methods of Manipulation

Deception

Deception involves lying and presenting false information to mislead someone in taking wrong action.

Types of Deception

• Lies: Presenting with false information with the intention of misleading others.
• Half-truths: not telling full information about something .
• Exaggerations: Enhancing or reducing the fact of a matter to sway opinions or emotions.
• Fabrications: Creating frictions statements to back something.
• Misleading by omission: Intentionally holding back relevant information from someone.

Emotional Manipulation

In Emotional Manipulation a person tries to control someone by using emotions such as fear ,hate , desire , insecurity etc.

Common ways of doing it.

• Guilt-Tripping: Making a person feel guilty , for making them act in according to the manipulator wants.
• Playing the Victim: Acting like the injured party to gain sympathy and make the other person feel bad.
• Fear-Mongering: Using threats to scare someone into compliance.
• Flattery: Using excessive compliments to lower someone’s guard.
• Silent Treatment: Ignoring someone until they give in to what the manipulator wants.
• Passive-Aggressive Behavior: Expressing negative feelings indirectly instead of openly to make the other person feel at fault.

Exploitation of Trust

Exploitation of trust , In this the person uses someone’s trust as a shield to hide their true intentions and selfish motives, This type of manipulation is often hard to recognise or identify, because of the trust factor.

How Trust is Exploited

• Breach of Confidentiality: Sharing or using private information that was given in confidence for personal advantage or to harm the other person.
• Financial Abuse: Using financial resources of the victim for personal benefit.
• Emotional Leverage: Using emotions such as fear , hope , desire to control other persons actions.

Gaslighting

GASLIGHTING means make a person doubt his own decisions, memory, skills, and confusing them , and making them act according to their own needs ,in the state of confusion..

Common ways of doing it.

• Denial: The manipulator denies certain facts or events , and filling the information gap with lies.
• Minimization: The manipulator downplays the victims emotions and tells them that they are overreacting in certain situations which is not true in reality.
• Projection: The manipulator accuses the victim of behaving in unmannerful way.
• Gaslighting by Proxy: The manipulator enlists others to support their lies and uses other to suppress the victim.
• Shifting Goalposts: The manipulator constantly changes the criteria or expectations, to cause confusion.

Misleading intentionally

Mis-leading occurs when someone intentionally withholds important information, leading others to form incorrect or wrong conclusions or make decisions based on false, incomplete or inaccurate information.

Leading someone of lies by hiding truth or facts for personal gain or to derail the progress on the victim driven by jealousy.

How to protect yourself.

Defending against manipulation means protecting yourself from others who try to control or influence you unfairly.

• Know the Tactics: Learn about common manipulation tactics, like guilt-tripping, lying, or playing the victim. Understanding these tactics helps you recognize them when they’re used against you.
• Trust Your Gut: If something feels wrong or too good to be true, trust your instincts. Pay attention to any feelings of discomfort or suspicion in your interactions with others.
• Set Clear Boundaries: Keeping distance from a suspicious person to avoid exploitation of any kind .
• Be Confident: Take decisions based on true facts and avoid pep talks.
• Question Everything: Verify everything before coming to something.
• Take Care of Yourself: Look after your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Manipulators target who are vulnerable.
• Reach Out for Support: Talk with family and friends before taking any decision.
• Be Wary of Overly Nice People: someone admiring you too much without knowing you much.
• Practice Saying No: set your own priorities and say no to thing that dont matter in the long run.
• Think for Yourself: Increase your level of understanding and develop critical thinking.

Conclusion

Manipulation is often used by people who lack self-respect, lack moral values and narcissists who only think of their own benefit, without taking other person in consideration.

These are low character beings, its important to identify and taking them out, to prevent exploitation of any kind.