Being able to recognize when people around you are toxic and manipulative is important, so you can figure out what to do to take back control of your life—AND your gut health. That’s because toxic people create a lot of stress for the people they come in contact with and stress REALLY affects your gut!
Here are some signs that a toxic person is manipulating you.
You Are Always The One To Blame
Toxic people will rarely accept the blame for their mistakes. They will find a way to blame you, even when you have nothing to do directly with what went wrong. Even when you are the one who got hurt and wronged, they will never apologize. Instead, they will make it look like it is all your fault in the first place. They justify bad behavior with “you made me do it.”
You Have Little To No Self-Confidence
When you’re around a toxic and manipulative person, you don’t have much self-confidence. They will always undermine your abilities, put you down, and make you feel like you are less than them. They point out things they know you are not confident about, which further makes you self-conscious and increases your self-doubt. When you don’t have self-confidence, it makes them feel good about themselves, and they take advantage of you.
You Can’t Or Don’t Want To Spend Time With Other People
You know a person is manipulating you when you can’t spend time with your friends. In a marital relationship, your partner may be demanding your full attention. They may want you to spend all your time with them. If, for any reason you want to go out with other people, they will make you feel guilty.
If it is a friend or other family member who is manipulative, they may have made it difficult for you to want to be at family social gatherings. They may have manipulated others into perceiving you differently.
You Never Win An Argument
A manipulative person will never let you win an argument. Whenever you are arguing, a manipulative person will find a way to steer the topic back to you (and your faults) or change the subject completely. It will make you feel hopeless as they avoid the truth and show they don’t care about what you think or say. They will rationalize their behaviors, and no matter what argument you throw in, they will always be right.
You Watch What You Do Or Say Around Them
A manipulative person is hard to gauge. You can barely guess what version of them you are getting at the time. One moment, they seem the most loving, then the next thing, you are wondering what wrong you did to them. They make you feel guilty of something you did not actually do, and they can make you apologize for it. As a result, you watch what you do or say and how you act around them to avoid angering them.
You Always Have To Prove Yourself
You may be trying to fit in or to feel that you belong in a social circle. You know you are being manipulated and taken advantage of when you always have to do something to prove that you are worthy of their acceptance.
You Can’t Share Your Happiness With Them
Another sign that you are with a toxic, manipulative person is when you can’t share your happiness with them. Whenever you have something to be happy about, or you have little successes, they always have something to say against it that will put you down. Or they one up you by bringing it back to them dismissing what you’ve said. They will find a flaw and give a backhanded compliment, so you will doubt yourself and the good things that happen in your life.
Final Thoughts
A toxic person can manipulate you in various ways and take advantage of you. You will often feel drained and less than what they are. They make everything about them, and worse, they can do it very subtly so that it can be hard for you to realize it immediately. Know these signs that you are with a toxic person. Remember that you always have choices, and you can take your control back.
