“Feel like your spouse is a master at twisting your words into something ugly when they weren’t intended that way? Standard tactic.”— James J. Sexton, huffingtonpost.com
“Gaslighting is when someone makes you feel crazy. You have an issue with their behavior? You must be crazy. You think they’re making bad choices? You’re clearly crazy. This is most damaging when it goes beyond just saying you’re crazy, to actually acting concerned about it. The secret weapon here: p…”— James J. Sexton, huffingtonpost.com
“By deliberately not responding to your reasonable calls, text messages, emails, or other inquiries, the manipulator presumes power by making you wait, and intends to place doubt and uncertainty in your mind. The silent treatment is a head game where silence is used as a form of leverage.”— Preston Ni, psychologytoday.com
“Some manipulators like to make critical remarks, often disguised as humor or sarcasm, to make you seem inferior and less secure. Examples can include any variety of comments ranging from your appearance, to your older model smart phone, to your background and credentials, to the fact that you walked…”— Preston Ni, psychologytoday.com
“A manipulative individual may insist on you meeting and interacting in a physical space where he or she can exercise more dominance and control. This can be the manipulator’s office, home, car, or other spaces where he feels ownership and familiarity (and where you lack them).”— Preston Ni, psychologytoday.com
“Whenever there's a conflict, your partner somehow makes himself out to be the injured party — every time. He ends up making you feel for him, and you sympathize with his bad experiences. You may even end up comforting him, apologizing for something (or everything), and telling him you'll do better n…”— Erin Adair, familyshare.com
“Your partner makes a small request that is easy to agree to and then follows it up with his real request. This makes it hard for you to say no.”— Erin Adair, familyshare.com
“A manipulator conveniently embarrasses you in front of others and then does one of two things: acts as though he didn't realize he would hurt your feelings or acts as though he does not care that he did. This tool works your self-esteem down and makes your partner feel better about himself.”— Erin Adair, familyshare.com
“You have no idea how many objectives can be obtained by humiliating ones fellow man. But there's a secret to it. The person humiliated can't realize they'd been humiliated.”— Umberto Contarello, Paolo Sorrentino, Lenny Belardo, Jude Law, imdb.com
“Everyone flirts with danger, so long as that danger does not really exist.”— Paulo Coelho, amazon.com
“When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.”— Alan Watts, amazon.com
“Don’t fall for manipulation, and don’t manipulate your casual buddy. Don’t say things that can confuse them like ‘I can’t imagine not having you in my life, but I do want you to meet other people and fall in love with someone else…’”— Sarah Summer, lovepanky.com
“My disorder isn’t a means to an end, a method of manipulation, or a way to demand the attention of those around me. My disorder is just that: an illness of the brain, a chemical imbalance totally out of my control. Just like someone with a chronic physical illness, I won’t be 'cured.'”— Robyn Murning, thoughtcatalog.com
“Sexual manipulation. Your partner emotionally manipulates you into sexual activities you don’t like. They may even emotionally armtwist you by saying things like ‘Other girls/guys do it! Why can’t you?’”— Natalia Avdeeva, lovepanky.com
“Grab his hands and put them in any position you’d like. On your ass. On your hips. On your tits. It’s your choice.”— Holly Riordan, thoughtcatalog.com
“Sometimes if you let people do things to you, you're really doing it to them.”— Gillian Flynn, amazon.com
“My boyfriend loves surprises (even though he'd never admit that), so I always come prepared. If I want him to go out with me and my girlfriends one night, or if I want him to help me clean the apartment, I make sure to stop and pick up something that he'll really love — or something that he's been h…”— Kylie M., yourtango.com