What is emotional abuse? Are you a victim of someone’s mind games? Nobody enjoys being played, but predators enjoy playing people. They enjoy the game of cat-and-mouse and seek pleasure from reeling in their next vulnerable victim. More often than not, people who are prone to being taken advantage of by potential abusers overlook their innocent facades. In fact, they often make excuses for them, even when they’re being poorly mistreated by toxic behavior. Why would this be?
Those whom tend to emotionally abuse people aren’t always obvious. They may be male or female. They can disguise themselves by being charming but he minimization of your needs is paramount. Do you feel like you’re giving way more than you’re receiving? What about feeling small when you’re around someone? Predators, narcissists & emotional abusers have a sneaky way of getting inside people’s heads and making them feel like they responsible for things they are not. They rarely take ownership and even when they do apologize they do so sparingly, without meaning, just to get someone to forgive them. They don’t care for facts or logic, only what they want to hear or believe and what benefits them. Recognize that what you need is important too.
An emotionally abusive person may forget that you exist. Being passionate about a hobby or a career is an attractive trait. But there’s a fine line between passion and obsession. If your friend or romantic partner often ignores you or cancels plans with you to focus on their favorite activities, then it may be a sign that they just don’t care. You might even make up excuses for them, frequently saying things like, ‘well, he/she worked hard to get where they are today, so I want to be supportive’ or ‘there’s always next week’ or things to that effect. This is exactly how they have get the upper hand, it’s important to emphasize your boundaries.
Emotional abusers like to project false humility. They may cry to you and put themselves down claiming they aren’t good enough or feel misunderstood. Before believing them, recognize that this is a trap. Predators actually like to play the victim card and feel like people never understand them. They might be highly sensitive Individuals who say things to the effect of, ‘If only people could understand me or ‘why don’t people appreciate me for who I am?’ They love surrounding themselves with those who can boost their ego. In these situations it’s best not to give in and avoid automatic forgiveness, supplication or compliments.
In most situations they wait for you to come to them. Abusers tend to feel a sense of entitlement. They believe that they should be appreciated and noticed first by others before giving attention in return. They dislike being in a group full of people unless attention is on them. If you find yourself constantly putting in all the work in a relationship and always broach things first, then you’re in a trap. Let that person know you’re time is not devoting to serve them.
Many of these people seem annoyed or disinterested when you come to them with your problems. While you may be a reliable friend or partner that can always be counted on to listen when someone else is having a bad day, you also have needs. Sometimes you have a bad day as well. When you have your difficulties, do they grow impatient or frustrated and have a habit of dismissing how you feel? If your partner, family member, friend or associate claim they’re too busy to help you with something you’re dealing with, then they may lack empathy. This is a strong indicator that someone may be a sociopath or prone to abusing others. In that case, it’s best to distance oneself from these types of people.