Have you ever had an interaction with someone that wasn’t quite violent or blatantly rude but left you feeling ‘off, rattled or shaken? What was going on there?
Have you found yourself falling for liars, con artists, or manipulators on more than one occasion? We have too.
What about psychopaths? Ever wondered if someone you know is a psychopath? Sometimes it’s essential to know.
We are seeing situations where people face more extreme and antisocial behavior- and master manipulators end up using them and pulling their strings.
Having delivered mental health and resilience training across the world, to organizations of all sizes and in all industries, and to individuals from all walks of life, we know very clearly that one of the things people struggle with most, in maintaining their health and wellbeing, is dealing with difficult people.
Everyday interactions and relationships with friends, family and colleagues can be tricky enough, even when everyone involved has the best intentions at heart.
But more and more, we see more extreme antisocial behavior to the point where they could be dealing with psychopaths, sociopaths, and other master manipulators.
Suppose you are not prepared, not alert, or not equipped with techniques to deal with these people and situations. In that case, you could be at risk – sometimes physically, sometimes financially, but often psychologically too.
Therefore, for good mental health and so many other reasons, we need to build our awareness and understanding of people who may not have our best interests at heart. And develop a skill set to deal with these people, behaviors, and situations more effectively.
We want to raise awareness and help people develop their psychological toolbox. We want good people to feel confident and in control when dealing with bad people out there – knowing that most people are good, well-intentioned people, but that, from time to time, they will come across dangerous people to their psychological and physical health. We also want them to know how to handle them.
We want to be aware and prepared to be able to:
- identify different types of manipulators and understand their inner psychology
- know how to spot other signs of manipulation and how to respond effectively to nip those in the bud
- understand the dozen or so different strategies people can use in an attempt to shape your behavior, and how to neutralize them
- look after your psychological safety and mental health effectively and securely when dealing with these people and their behaviors
So, what are some things you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones or your teams at work?
Well, here are four things you can do, in a nutshell (we go into more detail and more strategies in our Psychological Self Defense course):
- Spot it early and leave, but if you can´t go, then…
- Get clear and confident in your own beliefs and knowledge
- Don´t try to play their game. Don´t try to outsmart them or trick them, or play pretend to catch them out. You´re not likely to win.
- Communicate in a way that is very clear, firm and transparent.
- Don’t try to control their actions, but stay cool, calm, and collected no matter what happens.
There’s a lot to talk about, and it’s imperative we do. But it’s hard to put this much detail here in writing. That’s why we created the Psychological Self Defense course where people can discover the strategies, tools and skills, to better deal with difficult people and to develop a type of “psychological armor” to protect themselves and their team from harm.
This online course shows you how to spot the different types of manipulators, the signs of manipulation, the ten sneaky strategies they use to pull the wool over your eyes, and the best ways to respond to this manipulation.
We consider this essential knowledge for everyone. Of course, suppose you’re a manager or supervisor. In that case, this is even more critical knowledge to protect the wellbeing of your team – and avoid the legal implications these types could create for your company.
Please, do yourself a favor and check out the Psychological Self Defense course
It could be the best thing you do this year.
Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.
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