Psychological Manipulation Techniques: You Too Can Be Their Victim

They lurk in the places we visit most often. It can be your boss, upstairs neighbor, co-worker, customer, distant or close family member, or any of your friends. We are talking about people who have complete control over certain psychological manipulation techniques that they then use to confuse and control us.

Even if such people are right around us, they are not easy to spot. Their qualities and personality traits are not obvious. No one has a sign on their forehead warning that they are a narcissist or a sociopath. What, then, are psychological manipulation techniques and what can we do to avoid falling victim to such techniques?

Why me?

These types of people get their strength from the bad feelings and pain of others. So you are not weaker, more vulnerable or special than others, you are simply giving them one victim among others. One more number.

We have all experienced guilt or mistrust after certain situations. The worst part is that we feel it without knowing it: we don’t know how and we don’t know why. But the thing is, the consequences erode us, weaken our morals, complicate our lives, and increase our insecurities. How do such people manage to take advantage of various psychological manipulation techniques without barely even realizing it ourselves?

So what are the manipulative people looking for?

In general, there are many kinds of manipulative people: sociopaths, narcissists, liars, or so-called psychological vampires. Detecting such types of people is more of a practical than a theoretical question. Therefore, if you have ever been subjected to their manipulation, it will be easier for you to anticipate their behavior.

However, the goals of a manipulative person can be considered very clear and instrumental, and they always follow a certain formula. Some of them are:

• Nullification of your willpower: They seek to sow the seed of doubt in order to remain in their “protection”.
• Destroying your self-esteem: They seek to criticize, belittle, and criticize everything you do or have done. They don’t give constructive feedback, but on the contrary try to show what’s wrong with you.
• Passive-Aggressive Revenge: They will punish you for their ignorance. When you need them, they will leave you out. All you have to do is ask them for something, in which case they will already leave you to their own devices or may even stop talking to you.
• Distortion of reality: They enjoy confusing people and creating controversies and misunderstandings between other people. Once they have aroused controversy, they are left in the background to enjoy the chaos they have created.

Psychological manipulation techniques: this is how you learn to avoid them

The consequences of such manipulation can create a deep wound in each of us. It is therefore essential that we know what kind of psychological manipulation techniques they use the most. The purpose is to learn to anticipate, and not be left at the feet of a manipulative person.

These people often laugh at our opinions, hold us responsible for everything, or make us feel guilty, subtly attack, interrogate us, procrastinate on things they are not interested in, behave like a martyr, deny truths… They adopt all possible psychological manipulation techniques that threads in their hands. But what kind of manipulation techniques do they then use in practice to achieve this?

Gaslightning

This is also known as gas light, which is named after Patrick Hamilton’s play of the same name Gas Light.  This psychological manipulation technique is one of the most insidious and involves expressions such as “it never happened , ” “you just imagine,” or “are you crazy?” These are just some of the expressions they use to distort and confuse your sense of reality, making you believe something that hasn’t happened.

Barton and Whitehead (1969) defined “gaslighting” as “a deliberate attempt to make a person look crazy and thus achieve their own benefit” . It causes victims extreme anxiety and confusion to the extent that they lose confidence in themselves, their own memory, their ability to perceive, or their judgment.

In studies commissioned by Galán and Figeroa (2017), researchers describe igniting “gas light” by denying the damage done, creating lies, providing false information, and belittling feelings for the victim. It is also a way of confusing a partner, manipulating, blaming and belittling experiences, with the aim of thereby destroying his victim through this mental health.

The assailant communicates with the victim in a hostile manner and may include, for example, holding a silent school, complaining, malicious jokes, humiliation, and intimidation. According to Galán and Figeroa, this can have several different consequences for the victim’s mental health and well-being:

• Feeling of guilt
• Confusion
• Panic
• Anger
• Grief
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of autonomy
• Emotional addiction
• Starting or increasing alcohol consumption
• Even suicide

Finally

A manipulative person has the ability to transfer their negative traits or responsibility for their own behavior to another person. Narcissists and psychopaths use this skill to an excessive extent, saying that the evil around them is not their fault, but yours.