As you go through life, you learn that you can’t trust everyone, as some people’s actions have malicious intent. They try to control and emotionally abuse others for their gain. That’s why you need to know how to put a manipulator in their place.
Manipulators use several strategies to control others. One tactic they use is gaslighting, which involves twisting facts to make themselves out to be the victim. Another way such individuals trick others is by causing drama to distract them from their plots and schemes.
Read on to learn more about how to avoid falling victim to manipulators. We’ve also included valuable tips for how to recognize you’re being manipulated.
1. Learn to Say No
If you’re someone who struggles to say no to people, you’ll be a prime target for manipulators.
Some people feel that saying no is hostile and abrasive behavior. In reality, this isn’t always the case. You can push back and disagree with others without disrespecting them.
You’re disrespecting yourself by not saying no in a lot of cases!
Once you feel comfortable saying no to things you disagree with or don’t want to do, manipulators will find it more difficult to have you under their thumb. They’ll simply look for another person to target who doesn’t require as much effort.
2. Keep Contact With Them at a Minimum
In an ideal world, you would distance yourself altogether from manipulative people. However, sometimes, the circumstances make this impossible.
Perhaps this person is a close family member or a coworker you have to see every day. In these cases, you should limit your contact with such individuals to the bare minimum.
Doing so sends that person a signal that you’re not an easy target that’ll fall victim to their tactics. As a result, they’ll divert their manipulative efforts toward someone other than you.
3. Don’t Attempt to Correct Them
There’s a common trait that all manipulative people share. That trait is that they hate it when someone corrects them. When this happens, they feel attacked because it disrupts their attempts at appearing to be perfect.
With that in mind, you should never try to correct a manipulative person, even if they’re 100% wrong. Attempting to point out such people’s mistakes will trigger them to double down on their efforts to manipulate you.
The best thing to do when in an argument with a manipulator is to avoid worsening the situation and sorting the issue out when things simmer down.
4. Don’t Apologize Unnecessarily
Some people have a knee-jerk reaction to apologize to get themselves out of a confrontational situation.
This habit starts as benign. After all, simply saying the words “I’m sorry” doesn’t mean you feel you did something wrong.
However, excessively apologizing can harm your self-esteem and lead you to feel guilty even when you’ve done nothing to warrant this.
If you’re in this state of mind, you’re playing right into a manipulator’s hands. This is because one of the main tactics manipulators use is to take the blame off themselves and place it on others.
You should take a stand and decide that you won’t burden yourself with the responsibility of a manipulator’s actions anymore.
5. Don’t Allow Them to Generalize
Extreme generalization is another main tactic manipulators use on their victims. When you argue with them, they’ll extrapolate the argument’s topic and act like it represents your everyday behavior.
To avoid falling victim to this tactic, always keep arguments with manipulators revolving around the reason for that particular conflict. Don’t let them bring up past events and blow them out of proportion to win the argument.
How to Tell If You’re Being Manipulated
Before you can start making a conscious effort to improve how you deal with manipulators, you should first learn to recognize the signs that you’re being manipulated.
All manipulators exhibit the same behavior patterns. They typically have mental health issues that prompt them to use certain strategies to emotionally abuse those around them.
Gaslighting is one of the most common manipulation techniques. It involves altering the details of a past event to confuse the victim and make them question the way they remember it. Through this process, they make you feel like they’re the victim of your actions.
Another way manipulators trick their victims is to cause unnecessary drama. While you’re preoccupied with all the smoke and mirrors, they have time to carefully calculate their next steps to keep you under their control even more.
Being aware of these manipulative tactics and knowing how to avoid them is essential to not being an easy target for manipulators.
Conclusion
Is there a person in your life that you feel is playing mind games with you? You’re not alone.
Many people fall victim to manipulators who use certain tactics to control them. Therefore, it’s important to know how to put a manipulator in their place.
Once you’ve identified a person as a manipulator, you should take a stand and learn to say no to them. You should also get out of the habit of apologizing to them excessively.
If you adopt these strategies, along with the others mentioned in this guide, manipulators will steer clear of you.
