The Consequences of Manipulation

A manipulative person creates the reality they fear the most

The Toxic Cycle

If you have ever been in a relationship with someone you thought you loved but later discovered was manipulative beyond measure, you will feel the pain in every word I type. It begins with love bombing. They say everything you have always dreamed of hearing.

“I will cherish you for the rest of your life.”

“I will treat you the way you have always deserved to be treated.”

“I cannot believe no one has ever treated you this way. It is so simple.”

You are incredibly beautiful and deserve to be treasured.”

I trust him completely. He builds up my self-esteem. I feel safe and so comfortable.

And then BAM! Just like that, he pulls the carpet out from under me, and the bashing me down cycle begins.

Suddenly, nothing I say or do is right or good enough. I am left completely confused because I love this man, and yet he is now saying things like, “If you loved me, you would….” But deep down, I know nothing I do would satisfy him because I have tried.

So, I started to give up. I kept to myself. He felt me withdraw, and that scared him, so he baited me back in. The love bombing began again. He showed up with flowers. Told me he could never live without me. Told me he was such an idiot and he was working on himself.

I wanted to believe him because I genuinely loved him. So, I accepted his apology. And the toxic cycle I later learned was trauma bond continued.

What The Manipulative Person Never Admits

When I realized the relationship could not be saved and the patterns kept repeating, I had to end it. It was devastating, but so was being in the toxic cycle. I loved this man. But I loved and respected myself as well.

I had to rise above and walk away. Despite his smear campaigns and flying monkeys, I had to hold my head high and bite my tongue.

Those who have experienced it know… manipulative people will talk about their childhood abuse and play victim. They will talk about how bad their ex or all their exes treated them, and they will talk about how much they are working on themselves. It is all a ploy to look like a martyr. What they won’t tell you is how much they project, how much they psychologically abused their ex, and how they gaslight people.

Final Thoughts

No one wins in a manipulative relationship. The manipulative person tries to control, but love cannot be controlled. They create the ultimate reality of what they fear most: being alone, abandonment, and rejection.

This was in response to Bella Smith ⭐’S Creative prompts in Promptly Written; “Bonus Prompt — Write a poem, flash fiction story (500 words or less), or essay about how someone uses manipulation in a relationship and the consequences it brings to both parties involved.” If you would like to participate, the more the merrier-see Bella’s full prompts below 💕

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I appreciate you and you are amazing. Please comment and share your worst relationship or even best relationship story!

Peace & Light, Libby

I adore this story written by Joyce Nielsen and all the wonderful photos of wild animals she captured.

I cannot help but share this brilliant story by Nour Boustani. His imagery is mindblowing.