Emotional blackmail is a situation where someone uses your feelings as a way of controlling your behaviour or persuade you to see things their way. It always involves threats along the way. "If you don't do this, I will make you suffer, I will cause pain to you and your family".
Most people who practice emotional blackmail are usually your partners. Because it's your partner, it makes it difficult for the abused party to even notice that they're being emotionally blackmailed. Emotional blackmail is always used when the abuser wants to get something from someone. Psychiatrist have discovered that its a dysfunction of the brain.
Because this manipulator is your own partner, he or she knows a lot of secrets about you, your strengths, and weaknesses also. The manipulator becomes more dangerous than an outsider because he or she would take use your fears and threats of revealing your deep dark secrets to get what they want from you. Sometimes, they don't even have to make threats against you. The manipulator can go as far as threatening to take their own life if you don't fulfill their requests. Because of the love you have for that person, and fear of losing that person, you would have to fulfill the request.
Blackmailers can also exploit the victim's sense of guilt or take advantage of the victim's sense of duty or obligation. They can say something like, "After everything I've done for you, the least you could do is...." Blackmailers would make it seem like you're at fault that you can't even see that they're trying to blackmail you or something. They create a fog around them that if you try to fight back it'll seem like you're doing the wrong thing.
They can create confusion by:
Making their demands seem reasonable
Team up with someone you respect to intimidate the victim.
Paint the victim as one who's greedy..etc
If you have a partner who blackmails you emotionally or you know someone who has, you could help the person. There are a few ways you could try to identify emotional blackmail.
Recognize the controlling attitude of your partner
Know the reason for this destructive attitude.
Try and change your partner. Sometimes they can be changed. It might just be a result of influence.
Protect yourself, family, friends and kids. Cause they are leverages in this situation.
Find support from experts
Regain your freedom and independence
If its becoming too toxic and hard to stop, you can end the relationship
Its a disorder. You can get your partner to see a specialist.
Emotional blackmail have cause so many problems in relationships. Like death, pain, depression etc. Know the signs early, and don't be blinded by your love for your partner and not be able to read the signs. It'll save you a lot of stress.