Caught in a Narcassist's Web of Manipulation: Help!

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CookiesNCream101
Tufted Titmouse
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25 Oct 2023, 8:09 am

PhosphorusDecree wrote:
Honestly, I think you should block him and just avoid talking to him. You're not going to get anything from that type except more attempts to manipulate you. Why worry about being rude to him when he doesn't show you the same respect?

I think it harder this time for me to just block them straight away because I've known them for so long.
And now I have more clarity on the situation and I think I pissed him off at both parties because he viewed my friendly behaviour (laughing at a guy's jokes and complimenting them on their humor and acting silly) as flirting. But I don't know how to flirt, I just compliment anyone because I like to be kind and I like to act silly if I'm bored.



CookiesNCream101
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25 Oct 2023, 8:19 am

KitLily wrote:
PhosphorusDecree wrote:
Honestly, I think you should block him and just avoid talking to him. You're not going to get anything from that type except more attempts to manipulate you. Why worry about being rude to him when he doesn't show you the same respect?


I agree with you. Why bother with someone who is manipulating you?


I'm so confused and conflicted on what to do now, I keep thinking if I accidently caused this myself.
Since now I have a bit more clarity on the situation and I think I angered him at both parties, maybe because he viewed my friendly behaviour towards other guys and women but specifically guys as flirty. For example I remember him visibly getting angry when I laughed at one of his guy friend's jokes and complimented that friends humor (but is this really flirting!? Since I don't know how to flirt). And he was angry at me another time when I was acting silly with his female friend and his guy friend commented saying "how cute". I wasn't trying to flirt but I guess he picked it up as flirting. Plus I wasn't clear when he invited me to the party if he wanted a relationship or not, so I came to the party thinking he wanted to see me as a friend he hasn't seen for years. I really can't pick up on social cues, someone has to tell me that their interested in me or it will go over my head.



CookiesNCream101
Tufted Titmouse
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25 Oct 2023, 8:22 am

honeytoast wrote:
run


My brain is saying "run", but then my brain is also saying, "what if this is a huge misunderstanding, since you can't pick up on social cues and you unintentially come off as rude to people when your really anxious or scared."
I'm really conflicted....



CookiesNCream101
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25 Oct 2023, 8:29 am

blitzkrieg wrote:
I agree with the person in the thread who said that negging is often just part of the power dynamics of NT style social communication and doesn't necessarily have to be part of any PUA tactic or tactics.

People do that kind of thing to each other as friends, without any intentions of going to bed with people or whatever.

Sometimes it is labelled 'banter' or some such thing.


If he wanted to be friends from the begining do you know why he got mad at me for complimenting his male friend on his humor or when his other guy friend called me cute when I was just acting silly with another girl.
Also do friends really spout sexual innuendo to their female friends, asks for multiple hugs from them, ask to come over to their place to play games, compliment their jewelry, and etc. I even remember him dancing infront of me one time and talking his jacket off slowly.
I'm not trying to prove a point, I just really want to understand his intentions since I never had a male friend act like this with me, usually they tell me they like me or they respect my personal space. I dont know with this guy at all, even though my friends told me that he had a crush on me in primary school.



DirkGently69
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25 Oct 2023, 8:57 am

It sounds like is interested in more than just friendship. While a little joking around with a friend is okay, it feels like he wants more. People get angry/possessive of other people showing interest in someone they consider ‘theirs’. Best to just ask him what he wants out of your friendship, rather than rumminate about the whole situation.



CookiesNCream101
Tufted Titmouse
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25 Oct 2023, 8:59 am

DirkGently69 wrote:
Hi Cookies, have you managed to sort out your problem yet?


Hi Dirk,
I haven't, sadly. I discussed with him feeling mistreated at his last party a few days afterward. I used phrases like "I feel" or "I felt like" to explain how his actions made me feel like an outcast or enemy. He apologized, but his use of "I'm sorry if you felt that way" seemed insincere, maybe because of my use of the word "feel/felt." He also tried to shift the blame by saying they were making fun of him, not me, and that his friend has a harsh sense of humor. I did appreciate that he said he loved the way I say/organize things. But he didn't clarify the exclusion or why he didn't invite me, assuming I wouldn't want to go. The conversation ended when I said I didn't want to be invited at the moment, but I did enjoy one part of the party, which he acknowledged with a heart emoji, leaving me confused since I thought we were friends.

I've also realized that my friendly behavior towards other guys, including compliments and laughter, might have been misconstrued as flirting by him, since I noticed he would get mad at the first party when I complimented his guy friend on being funny, and in the second party his friend commented on my behaviour being cute when I was acting silly with another girl. I notice now after that "cute" comment from his friend, that's when he started treating me badly. I don't know how to flirt, and I didn't understand his intentions when he invited me to the party. I often miss social cues unless someone explicitly tells me they're interested in me. So I don't know what to do...



CookiesNCream101
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25 Oct 2023, 9:06 am

microprogrammer wrote:
Quote:
I have personally had a situation like this recently, and it's been so hard to resist the urge to go back and try to get some reasonably positive and supportive response from them.


To clarify what I meant here, I understand that it's really frustrating when you have some sort of a friendship with someone, and it seems that they're not treating you with respect. In that situation I've found I have a desire to try again, by reaching out to them further. But my experience is also that in these situations I keep getting the same response, which makes me feel worse.

DirkGently69 and blitzkrieg seem to suggest that you should just not expect much in the way of connection from your interactions with these people, if I'm reading them right. Maybe then I'd update my advice and say to interact with such people in a detached way, not expecting much, and not needing any kind of validation from them.


Yeah maybe after I have a long break I'll think about interacting with them, I just don't know why they always want me to hangout with them and their friends. I have much less anxiety when it's one on one. Although we did discuss after the first party meeting up to play video games, but I'm not sure about it now. Even though I was going to have my sibling there with us.

And I have a problem of going back to negativity or throwing things out of porportion, because that's all I've known in my life and I'm always on guard, since women and even guys can go from being kind to being cruel, but it always wasn't like that, just been happening for a while since highschool.



CookiesNCream101
Tufted Titmouse
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25 Oct 2023, 9:09 am

BillyTree wrote:
If this guy makes you feel bad and you have no romantic feelings towards him, then just cut him off instead of wasting time and energy trying to analyze it. Go with your gut feelings. Stick to people that makes you feel good and secure.


The problem is I can't even trust my gut, I've accidently distanced my self from nice and kind people before, hence why I'm trying to get as much clarity before I make a drastic decision.
I don't hate him but the mis treatment did hurt badly because I remember him being a really friendly person and people told me he had a crush on me, but I couldn't tell.



CookiesNCream101
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25 Oct 2023, 9:18 am

DirkGently69 wrote:
It sounds like is interested in more than just friendship. While a little joking around with a friend is okay, it feels like he wants more. People get angry/possessive of other people showing interest in someone they consider ‘theirs’. Best to just ask him what he wants out of your friendship, rather than rumminate about the whole situation.


I did ask him and he said he wanted to be friends, but this is after his mistreatment and anger, just because his friend said I was cute when I was acting silly with another girl.
Although I did ask him why he reconnected with me, and that was his answer for that. But it was really weird how he lied saying he felt bad how mean he was to me as a kid, which I don't remember him being mean to me at all. And I told him I remember the opposite and he simple said "that's good" and said he reconnected to be friends and asked me what I thought this relationship was and I replied "what do you think I was thinking?" and straight after that my taxi arrived so I had to leave.



DirkGently69
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25 Oct 2023, 6:54 pm

He really sounds like more trouble than he is worth. It’s after midnight, try to get some sleep and forget about it all for a few hours. Sleep well.



CookiesNCream101
Tufted Titmouse
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27 Oct 2023, 10:15 am

DirkGently69 wrote:
He really sounds like more trouble than he is worth. It’s after midnight, try to get some sleep and forget about it all for a few hours. Sleep well.


Yeah you're right, I just feel bad if I came off as rude as I didn't intend to towards anyone.
Thanks, hope you sleep well too or have a good morning depending on when you see this.



DirkGently69
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27 Oct 2023, 5:57 pm

CookiesNCream101 wrote:

Yeah you're right, I just feel bad if I came off as rude as I didn't intend to towards anyone.
Thanks, hope you sleep well too or have a good morning depending on when you see this.

It’s the morning. I slept well-ish thank you. Hope you have a good weekend.

I understand where you are coming from. I hate the thought that I could come off as rude, in fact the thought that I might get into a socially embarrassing situation stops me from doing quite a few things. But I’m also reminded of the saying “You can’t please all of the people all of the time “. You just try to look after yourself and what you need, and not to ruminate on the ‘what-if’s’.