What Emotional Manipulation Looks Like

Emotional manipulation includes being dismissed, or worse, "attacked" for expressing your needs to your partner. For example, you may tell him that you feel ignored when you're out together and he pays more attention to his phone than to you, or continually chooses his buddies over you. But instead of apologizing and modifying that behavior, he says you're "ridiculous" or may tell you to "stop criticizing" him. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
(Note: A first step toward combatting emotional abuse is identifying it, because emotional manipulators rely on you being in the dark about what they’re doing to you. For more on how to recognize and stand up to emotional manipulation, see Don’t Sleep With Him Yet, Steps 3, 5, and 9. To listen to Dr. Lee discuss emotional manipulation, including gaslighting, click here.)