7 Signs Your Boyfriend is Exploiting You

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Exploit: to make full use of and derive benefit from in an unfair or selfish way.

Do you feel that you are being used? Does your boyfriend reap all the benefits of having the best parts of you, without you receiving any emotional support in return? Has he gained control of every aspect of your life, so that he can have whatever he wants, when he wants it? If so, these are red signs that you are being exploited.

An exploitative boyfriend uses multiple tactics to exert power and control over their partners with the goal of intimidating their victim into feeling like they do not have an equal voice. The tactics they use may be easy to see, such as psychological abuse, isolation, gaslighting, or guilt tripping. However, some are not as noticeable, such as making you feel as if they are the true victim.

If you feel like your relationship is one sided or that you are being used, then you might be dating a manipulator.

He is extremely controlling.

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Those who are trying to exploit someone will emotionally manipulate them into thinking they do not have a choice or say in the matter. One way your boyfriend could be doing this is by always hogging the spotlight and being sure to outdo any of your problems. This makes your troubles seem trivial and childish, so you choose to put your own feelings on the back burner to instead help your boyfriends every call. He may be trying to get money, sex or emotional support from you in devious ways through making you feel like he is a victim of the life he was given. You may not notice this at first, but over time you will be dropping everything to help any time he says he needs you. This alienates you from your friends, family, and hobbies.

He looks for your weaknesses.

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One way for manipulators to get control over the one they are exploiting is through targeting their victim’s weakness. By asking probing questions, your boyfriend may be establishing a baseline about your thinking and behavior which reveals your strengths and weaknesses. Some manipulators like to make critical remarks that are often disguised as humor or sarcasm to make you seem inferior and less secure. Your boyfriend may start making remarks about your appearance, intelligence or even something as small as the fact you own an older model of a smart phone. By making you look bad, and getting you to feel bad, the aggressor hopes to impose psychological superiority over you.

He makes you sacrifice your needs.

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Do you crave to spend more quality time with your boyfriend, but he always seems busy or ignores your desires? You may try and have more intimate conversations with him and more meaningful dates, however he never seems to want to engage with you except on a surface level. Well, he is definitely taking you for granted and only thinking about his needs. You can be assured that you are being emotionally manipulated by your partner if you find yourself constantly sacrificing your own needs and wants to meet his goals and wishes. Manipulators know exactly which vulnerabilities of a person to be exploited, and they make good use of this information. Showing consideration for you, your wishes, and your feelings is not his top priority.