5 Mind Games Guys Play On Women Before A Break Up (And How To Deal With Them)

When a man decides to walk away from you, your entire existence seems to crumble. You’re engulfed by feelings of rejection and solitude.

Most of us are familiar with that agonizing sentiment and the process of healing that inevitably follows.

However, what if you could foresee the impending heartbreak from someone who’s about to leave?

What if you could sense that he is contemplating ending things with you?

In such a scenario, you would sidestep the devastation, no matter how deep your affection for him runs because you would, at some point, begin to perceive the subtle signs of his manipulation, paving the way for a breakup.

He is likely a spineless individual lacking the courage to communicate his desire to leave the relationship directly.

Instead, he resorts to despicable and cowardly tactics—engaging in mind games to lay the blame on you, ensuring he exits the situation appearing innocent and guilt-free.

The harsh reality is that many women don’t realize they’ve been mistreated in their relationship until it’s too late.

Eventually, they replay the past events and come to the realization that none of it was due to their actions.

The affection they felt for the man who mistreated them blinded them to the fact that the relationship was unhealthy from the start. They could not see that things were not as they should have been.

Even if they did notice the warning signs, they often refuse to acknowledge them, frightened that their idealized world could collapse.

Confronting the truth can sometimes seem more painful than remaining in oblivion.

This is why it’s essential to view your romantic life from a standpoint of clarity. Detach yourself from the feelings of love, as emotions can cloud your judgment and prevent you from seeing things as they are.

Perhaps you are unwilling or unable to do so.

Men employ various tactics to manipulate women emotionally. Just as individuals differ, so do their approaches. Different triggers affect us in unique ways and can inflict various levels of pain.

Men who exhibit psychopathic tendencies or treat others as mere objects know precisely how to reach into our vulnerabilities, striking where it hurts most.

The intentions behind their actions usually aim to terminate the relationship while ensuring you shoulder the blame.

Below are some common mind games that men play to achieve their desires and leave without taking responsibility.

He flirts with other women

There could be various motivations behind his behavior. A prevalent reason is that he seeks your attention and wants to evoke feelings of jealousy—which is unhealthy, to say the least.

However, there’s an even more significant reason behind his actions.

He is subtly indicating that he intends to end your relationship soon.

The catch is that if you confront him about it, he won’t be forthcoming with the truth. He will likely play the victim, seeking your sympathy so you give him space.

He might claim that you don’t care about him or that he feels alone, when in reality, he has already made up his mind to leave at any moment.

And when that moment arrives, you’ll be left in despair, convinced that it was your shortcomings that pushed him away, that you could have loved him better.

He uses guilt to manipulate you

He will make you feel entirely worthless. Regardless of how diligently you work on your relationship, he will always find a reason to criticize your actions.

He will instill feelings of guilt for every mishap.

Even when you’re struggling but try to maintain composure for his benefit, he will poke at you just to incite frustration, consistently putting himself in the role of the victim while making you look like the villain.

This behavior will occur daily because he either desires to end the relationship or wants you to initiate the breakup, evading the responsibility of ending it himself.

The most prudent action you can take in this situation is to cease all communication with him and walk away.

Even if it provides him the pleasure of not directly breaking up with you, it’s not worth the toll it takes on your mental health.

He will deceive you regularly

He’s likely involved in an affair that’s patently obvious. You can sense that he’s being unfaithful and that this behavior is intentional.

He wants you to be aware of it as he gears up for a breakup.

However, the disturbing aspect is that even though he aims to convey that his feelings have faded, he will fabricate excuses to rationalize his actions, as he still refuses to take on the role of the antagonist.

He will fabricate stories about his whereabouts and who he has been with—despite you detecting another woman’s presence on him. He will deny everything you confront him about.

Don’t linger around to observe what unfolds. Don’t give him additional opportunities because he isn’t deserving of it and likely doesn’t wish for it either.

Resist allowing him to manipulate you with his dishonesty, making you feel foolish.

Never reveal that these blatant lies affect you, simply cut ties.

And if he inquires about your decision, which a mind-game player like him surely will, just respond with, “because.” Don’t provide him the pleasure of witnessing your distress.

He’ll manipulate your reality

This represents a treasure trove of psychological manipulations. It exemplifies the harshest and most adept form of mental gamesmanship.

Gaslighting is a type of emotional manipulation where the perpetrator skillfully twists scenarios to induce doubt in your reality.

He will select a specific event and articulate one message while simultaneously acting in contradiction to it.

Afterward, he will persuade you that your perceptions are incorrect, insisting that he never stated what you believe he did (or performed the actions you think he did).

You can escape this predicament by documenting events.

While it may be impossible to record every single occurrence in your life, patterns will emerge over time, and during those instances, jot down what he asserted or promised alongside his ultimate actions.

You will come to realize that the issue lies not with you but with him.

He is manipulating your thoughts so that, when he ends things, he can claim that you’re completely unhinged, leaving him no option but to part ways.

He’s Testing Your Limits

He will intentionally trigger your emotions to incite anger and subsequently leverage that anger against you.

Regardless of your level of patience, persistent verbal and emotional jabs will eventually lead you to snap.

This is precisely what he seeks from the beginning. Having spent enough time in this relationship, he has learned exactly what sets you off and will exploit it.

The moment you lose your composure, he will assume the role of a victim and turn the narrative around.

This tactic of manipulation serves as an excellent smokescreen for a breakup since you are portrayed as the unreasonable one.

You’re constantly furious and perpetually shouting.

If viewed superficially, that may seem accurate, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear he sowed those seeds of chaos and orchestrated the entire scenario.

And all of this just because he lacks the backbone to end the relationship like a mature person. Instead, he resorted to behavior that reflects emotional immaturity, akin to a coward.

You are not worthy of a coward; you deserve a genuine man.