Until all of the emotions are accepted indiscriminately (and acceptance does not imply license to dump emotions irresponsibly or abusively), there can be no wholeness, no real sense of well being, and no solid sense of self esteem.
Pete Walker – Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving.
This quote perfectly separates healthy, vulnerable emotions, from unhealthy, attention-seeking emotions.
Covert’s will attempt to become the biggest victim in the room, dump their emotions onto you, and say you “don’t care about them”(guilting/shaming, using your empathy against you) unless you accommodate, console, and take responsibility for their negative emotions.
If someone is yelling/raging, physically/emotionally abusing you, and when you react hurt(rightfully so), they turn into a meek puppy(playing victim) and act like you hurt them? … it’s abuse.
If they tell you it’s your fault, you baited their emotional outburst, thus you deserved it? It’s abuse.
If they rage at you, abuse you, and tell you that if you don’t stay with them and argue it out, that they won’t feel loved? It’s abuse.
If they attack, you tell them it hurt, and they suddenly drop to their knees acting like the victim until you console their feelings about “what a monster they are for hurting you”? And then your pain never gets addressed? It’s abuse.
If someone is using you as a punching bag, and telling you that you have to endure their emotional outbursts, because “their love is just painful”? It’s abuse.
Coverts play the victim, and make you feel like it’s your responsibility to heal/fix/help them. But they don’t want help, they just want attention/compassion/love/care for being a victim, which they aren’t, but they’ll lie(REPEATEDLY), and gaslight(REPEATEDLY) to make it seem like you’re the aggressor, and they’re the vulnerable one.
They’re draining you dry, and they’ll never give back the same support and energy you gave to them. They’ll project, manipulate, and deflect taking any responsibility for the ways they’ve hurt you.
Even if you confront them, they’ll flip the conversation, or use the confrontation as yet another way to garner more negative supply. They’ll turn up the volume on how “terrible” they are for hurting you, and how desperately they want to do better, but “they don’t know how” and they “tried so hard” (even if they did nothing).
It’s more victim play, they want you to feel bad for them that they’re “such a monster” for hurting you, and they’re looking for you to console them … again.
They’ll never actually see, address, or feel your emotions, they don’t care about your emotions. Run.