Manipulation at its finest.

So the goal of manipulation is to get someone to do, believe, say, think and feel the way you want them to. To the manipulator it doesn't matter what it takes, from guilt to blackmail as long as your will is in their hands they have you manipulated. Don't be surprised if it's a family member majority of the time and don't be surprised when they start young, that's when you are at your weakest and most naive time after all. Manipulation can however, originate from anyone. Friend, family, boss, co-worker... You'd think someone who's been manipulated just once would know the signs when someone tries again but that's the thing, there is no one way to manipulate. Blackmail, guilt, pretending, lying, shame, gifts, grooming... Well that's why I am making this book. I have been manipulated more than once in most of these ways by so many, of course this book is to share my experiences and guide those like me who may go through similar issues or have gone through and feel alone. My name is Chloe, very common for a Londoner I know. You can use this book for self help although I honestly don't know how helpful it will be since I'm not a therapist or psychologist, but maybe you will find comfort in this. I once read a book called "Am I normal yet?" Often my classmates would stare and laugh but the book was a story and self-help book about a girl who wanted to be normal but found normal was worse than unpopular and weird. It helped me realise that being weird is normal for me and that's okay, those who like me will like me for my weirdness and not for someone I'm pretending to be. Who knows maybe this book will help connect people together. As far as I knew my weirdness was just me being weird but it turns out I might have undiagnosed autism, currently trying to get it diagnosed, and it would explain many things. Like how I love cotton but hate velvet, I love music and hate silence. How things I hate that when I think about them my tongue feels weird like it's being rubbed with sandpaper. Or maybe I'm just weird. I'll let you know when I know! So you wanna know what one of the things that people use the most to manipulate you? Lies. Small lies, white lies, half-truths... They take what little information you already know and twist it with their own version while asking you "Doesn't it make sense?". For example; "I didn't eat the cake but look at the crumbs on the floor near Elle's desk, she must've ate it right? Doesn't that make sense?" Probably not the best example but let's see if I can explain it. You have a cake that you know was made for you and your coworkers, but, when you go to get a slice it's all gone and there's evidence of crumbs by a coworkers desk. Naturally you'd either suspect anyone that wasn't you or suspect the person the desk belongs to, but it would only be a sneaking suspicion until your coworker says something to further cement that it must be that person. Sometimes even swearing it wasn't them. It almost certainly is them and not, in this case, Elle. I was often lied to or given information that was twisted, best example was the fact that my mother's side of the family said my father never tried to bother with me or contact me but he showed me papers and text messages to say he did try. You're probably wondering who the manipulator was and who was the victim... I was the victim and they were both manipulators. The only difference between them was that one had at least intended for it to be for a positive reason, my mum had just wanted to protect me from his selfish and narcissistic ways. But it doesn't erase the fact that I had been manipulated. Of course not every person in the world is out to manipulate you, some people are actually oblivious that they are doing it. A lot of the times I've been manipulated I hadn't realised until it had already happened and I would look back and get so mad that I believed they had the best intentions for me. Take this tip: the only person with the best intentions for you is yourself! But that doesn't mean stop trusting people, sometimes you should trust them with the reminder that they are probably using or manipulating you. Why? Cause when they screw you over you have that memory for a lifetime, use the experience to find out who isn't a manipulator.