Manipulation Tactic: Silent Treatment Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Silent Treatment  is the intentional refusal to communicate verbally with someone, often as a way to express anger, disapproval, or contempt. It involves minimizing or completely withdrawing engagement for an extended period, moving beyond a reasonable "cooling down" time after an issue. It is a form of passive-aggressive behavior  and, when used intentionally and repeatedly to control

Manipulation Tactic: Playing The Victim Category:  Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Playing the victim," also known as victim playing or self-victimization, is a manipulative behavior where a person exaggerates or fabricates their victimhood in a situation when they are either not a victim or have contributed significantly to the problem. The behavior is essentially a tactic used to control a narrative, avoid taking personal responsibility for their actions, and ga

Manipulation Tactic:  Guilt Tripping Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators Guilt tripping is an Emotional Manipulation tactic used by one person to induce feelings of guilt or excessive responsibility in another, with the goal of influencing or controlling their behavior. Essentially, it's an attempt to make someone feel so bad that they feel compelled to do what the "guilt-tripper" wants. Here are the core aspects and common examples of guilt tripping: Psycho

Manipulation Tactic: Fear, Obligation, Guilt (FOG) Category: Emotional Manipulation Red Flag Indicators FOG ( Fear, Obligation, Guilt ) is a psychological model where a persons emotional levers used in emotional blackmail to control another person. The FOG represents a set of emotional triggers that manipulators use to create a psychological "fog" of confusion, anxiety, and self-doubt in the target, making it difficult to set boundaries or see the manipulation clearly. Psy