When all other manipulative techniques have been exhausted, the manipulator resorts to a demonstration of force. He (or they) will attempt to compel your submission by attacking your personality directly, using every means available and acceptable to them, in an effort to crush you psychologically.

The aim is to inflict as much pain as possible whenever you refuse to comply, so as to show you that obedience will cost you less than resistance—to force you to choose the “lesser evil.” For this purpose, the psychological assault must be as intense and persistent as possible; authority must be imposed unequivocally and without compromise. The targets are your self-esteem, confidence, calm, and inner balance. The ultimate goal of the strategy is total demoralization: psychological exhaustion, the cracking and collapse of defenses, the breaking of the will, and finally, submission.

Such actions are rarely carried out by a single manipulator. In most cases, they are the work of an organization that possesses the know-how, resources, and capacity to conduct coordinated, multi-layered pressure. The first step in such operations is the creation of a detailed psychological profile of the individual. The specific strategy is then built on that basis.

Below are some of the possible forms of attack against an individual:

Moralizing

The process often begins with moralizing. The goal is to convince the individual that they are in the wrong and that they must submit to the wishes of “everyone,” even when those wishes contradict their rights and interests. An impression of collective outrage and overwhelming public disapproval is created. Manipulators and planted figures present themselves as shocked and appalled, without offering arguments or opening the issue to genuine discussion (because in a logical and impartial debate the thesis would not hold; therefore, everything is kept in the emotional realm, not the rational one). The individual is loudly branded immoral, irresponsible, selfish, and so on, depending on the case. Any attempt to defend oneself, to seek dialogue, or to ask questions is drowned out by emotional attacks and accusations.

Insults and Suggestions of Inferiority

This may take the form of direct personal attacks or veiled hints and insinuations (often coming from all directions): attempts to associate the individual with negative images, mockery, ridicule, caricature, humiliating remarks, and constant emphasis on flaws. The person is repeatedly reminded that others are “better” than them. Complexes are cultivated, along with a sense of inadequacy.

Planting Fears and Doubts

Through various techniques, the aim is to neuroticize the individual—to create insecurity and paranoia. Anxiety, pessimism, doubts about different aspects of life, suspicions, uncertainty, psychological harassment, threats (both explicit and implied), hypochondria, and more are introduced and reinforced.

Today, on the internet, almost any idea can be planted in your head. Google, for example, knows you well. It knows your traits, secrets, desires, complexes, fears, and nightmares—and it also knows how to activate them.

If you are a hypochondriac, or simply afraid of a particular illness, YouTube may recommend videos about how to recognize the symptoms of cancer (or whatever you fear—COVID, for instance). It has been experimentally demonstrated that doubts, fears, and inner conflicts drain a person’s energy and weaken their will.

Obstruction and Marginalization

If the manipulator represents the state apparatus or influential business circles and corporations, they may be able to create numerous obstacles and problems for an individual—or for a group of individuals (activists, protesters, liberals, etc.). This can include administrative barriers; everyday difficulties; personal and emotional problems; psychological pressure; workplace issues (or dismissal); intrigue; smear campaigns; business problems (if the individual has one)—frequent inspections, harassment, fines, and ongoing psychological stress.

The system may also attempt to completely marginalize its targets: to destroy their social status; to break them morally, spiritually, psychologically, socially, professionally, and economically; to ruin their personal lives and reputations; sometimes even to damage their health by inducing chronic conditions; and, in extreme cases, to deprive them of their freedom.

An organized system will deliberately provoke every weakness of the individual. Its actions will be aimed precisely at those vulnerabilities, pushing the person to fail on their own, to break psychologically, or to be driven into impulsive, compromising actions that can then be used against them. Often, the goal is to tempt the individual into showing a willingness to be corrupted, thereby losing self-respect and weakening the inner motivation to resist. Through total pressure from all directions and every possible technique, the aim is to disrupt the individual’s inner stability and balance, exhaust their psychological resources, and leave them without the strength to continue standing up for themselves.

Against an individual, the system has the capacity to wage a covert, dirty, and dishonorable war—without rules, yet difficult to prove.

The message is simple: “I am the boss here.”
And it will be repeated until the victim understands it.