Are You Being Emotionally Blackmailed?

"Emotional blackmail is manipulation; it is meant to obligate someone to give someone else what they want-or else. The "or else" there is often guilt. I should do it, think it, believe it, feel it, or say it, because if I don't, I'm going to feel terribly guilty. Why? Because I've been getting subtle or overt messages from a significant other to do what they want me to do-or else they will feel very bad, or very mad."

"A person uses emotional coercion to force another person, with whom he is in a significant relationship, to do, say, think, feel, or believe something. But because it is emotional and involves loved ones, it can be much harder to detect. Emotional blackmail is manipulation; it is meant to obligate someone to give someone else what they want-or else. The "or else" there is often guilt."

Blackmail is illegal because it uses extortion to obtain money, power, or prestige through threats of violence, reputational loss, or other harm. Emotional blackmail applies coercion and manipulation within significant relationships to force someone to do, say, think, feel, or believe something. Emotional blackmail relies on guilt, threats, subtle or overt messages, and claims of conditional love or fragility to compel compliance. Emotional coercion can be difficult to recognize because it involves feelings and people who are loved. Emotional blackmail can produce deep, lasting changes in the targeted person's emotions, behavior, and sense of obligation. Real-life examples aid recognition and boundary-setting.

Read at Psychology Today