i see the word manipulation get thrown around a lot in the bpd community and while thats understandable i just wanted to give you all a small reminder
things that ARE manipulation are things like
never accepting responsibility for hurting others
guilt tripping others to get what you want
harassing others for not agreeing with you
intentionally diminishing other’s problems/difficulties by comparing them to your own
using other’s insecurities against them
things that are NOT manipulation include
expressing negative emotions to someone when you are hurt or distressed
not expressing emotions for the fear of bothering others
disagreeing with others and explaining your side of things
expressing your needs to those close to you
not socializing due to lack of energy or spoons
unhealthy behaviors (such as bottling things up, ignoring your problems, etc) definitely make situations harder and are things that need to be worked on asap, but unhealthy behaviors are not automatically manipulative just because someone has bpd
throwing around the wrong words can be extremely counter productive in this community, especially when there is already so much stigma and misunderstanding surrounding this disorder (not to mention that carelessly calling people manipulative and/or abusive for small things can end up devaluing what abuse and manipulation really mean)
TL;DR: do your research and get to know the actual meaning of strong words before using them - words like ‘manipulation’ or ‘abuse’ are not for you to take lightly and use against people you just disagree or have a problem with