Manipulation is a sneaky word and we tend to use it when someone is being outwardly manipulative, but many of us are like this all the time when we are seeking validation. When we hide behind a facade, playing the part someone else wants us to play (or we assume they want us to play), we manipulate to be accepted. At the same time, we fear being exposed for who we really are, because we've never learned how to accept ourselves. It's always been more important for others to accept us. Manipulation of others and how they see you is not self-acceptance, it’s control.
Learn all the ways manipulation shows up, and how to stop hiding behind it, so you can have relationships built on who you are, what you want and get unstuck from a state of insecure attachment to a dysfunctional situation.