Manipulation always starts with guilt. If he can convince you to feel guilty for your actions (even when you've done nothing wrong), then he knows you'll be more willing to do what he says.
Manipulators will often force their own insecurities on you in an effort to control how you react toward them, all while pretending they're trying to have a healthy relationship.
Want to know why it's so easy for him to be manipulated? Because he's gaslit you to the point where you no longer trust yourself. Manipulators take your insecurities and use them against you.
Manipulators are ironic in the sense that they spend quite a bit of time making you feel as if you can’t think for yourself, but then turn around and make you responsible for all of their emotions.
We all start out relationships with requirements and deal-breakers — it’s natural. As you start to blend two lives, compromises are made.
You've only known this person for a few weeks or months, and you don't know their favorite color yet, but they've told you an alarming amount of personal information.
A common way to play with people's emotions is to never fully give the facts, but to manipulate them to fit the scenario for the abuser.
One of the biggest signs of emotional manipulation is when your partner, an adult human being, chooses to shut you out instead of resolving a conflict.
You ask your husband to investigate a strange noise in your car, and when he doesn't seem to have an answer, you suggest taking it into a shop, or asking his mechanic friend to look at it instead.
A manipulative person will not spend the time acknowledging your needs and wants are important, or feel responsible when they've upset you. They'll never apologize because, in their mind, it's not their "fault."