15 Mind Games Guys Play When They're Ready To Breakup

Breaking up isn't alway easy to do. When there are strong feelings involved and a tight bond between two people, it can sometimes take months or even years to finally find the strength to end things once and for all. A guy who genuinely cares for your wellbeing and respects you will let you down as gently as possible. But for other men who can't find the courage to finally dump you, they will play mind games to try to push you away instead.

You probably suspect that your relationship is coming to an end, but you're trying to hold on desperately to a love that's long gone. Your boyfriend knows he won't be able to break up with you easily, so instead of coming clean and telling you things aren't working out, he may resort to some hurtful manipulation tactics to push you away. You don't want to be with a coward, someone who behaves this way is not worth your time and love.

Keep reading to see the 15 common mind games men play when they're ready to breakup. If any of these are happening to you, call him out and end it with him.

15 The Silent Treatment

The silent treatment is a form of emotional and mental abuse that is used as a way to regain control in a relationship. A guy who is ready to end the relationship may employ the silent treatment over the smallest things. Perhaps you left a few strands of hair in the shower and he went ballistic, or maybe you forgot to call him back during your lunch break. He will then resort to ignoring you for hours, days or even weeks as a form of “punishment.”

If the two of you live together, this could be especially difficult to deal with. Your partner will act like you don't even exist - passing you by in the kitchen without even glancing your way, and completely shutting down when you ask them to tell you what's wrong. Your boyfriend knows the silent treatment is driving you crazy, and he's secretly enjoying the stress it brings you.

For a guy who's too much of a coward to breakup with you, he may test out the silent treatment a few times to see how you react. If you take the bait and start begging, pleading and demanding he talk to you, he'll know he has you right where he wants you. He will then continue to use the silent treatment on you as much as possible in hopes that you will end the relationship. If you're the one to dump him, his hands are clean in the entire situation, and he doesn't have to live with being the “bad guy.”

14 Gaslighting

The term gaslighting was created to describe the mental abuse that is used to manipulate and create doubt in a relationship. For a guy who's over the relationship but isn't strong enough to end things once and for all, he may resort to gaslighting to throw some confusion into the mix and to push you to your breaking point.

A partner who is using this technique against you will make you feel like you're going absolutely crazy. They will then tell you that you're being too sensitive, it's “all in your head,” and “you're going nuts.”

This type of manipulation occurs when one partner creates or stages an event. For instance, he may tell you that he won't be picking you up from work and you need to find a ride from a co-worker. After your co-worker drops you off at home, your partner may say, “Babe, why didn't you call me? I would have picked you up from work.” This will usually start an argument. You will insist that he told you to catch a ride, and he will deny ever saying those words. After some time, you will start to doubt your own memory, and that's when he knows he has you right where he wants you.

13 Making You Feel Guilty

When your boyfriend is over the relationship, but he's not strong enough to end things, he will go to great lengths to put you down and make you feel bad about yourself. One of the common manipulation tactics a man will use is to make you feel guilty. No matter what you do, he will find a way to twist things around to make you feel like you've done something wrong.

Convincing you to feel guilty is a damaging mind game that can really destroy your self-esteem. You will start to believe that you can't do anything right and you're not good enough for your partner.

As the relationship comes to an end, your boyfriend may guilt trip you about spending time with family and friends, he will tell you that you spend too much time watching your favorite television shows instead of hanging out with him, and if you ever tell him no or turn him down in any way, he will question how much you really love him.

When it comes to making you feel guilty, he hopes that you'll soon tire of always taking the blame and finally put him out of his misery by breaking up with him.

12 Blowing Hot & Cold

You may think the hot and cold technique is something that's more commonly used during the early stages of dating, but many men use this technique while involved in long-term relationships, too. Blowing hot and cold is essentially giving and withholding affection constantly. It's like being on a constant rollercoaster ride with various dips and turns. One second, you feel like you're on top of the world, and in the next moment, you're down in the pits and questioning what went wrong.

A guy who is having second thoughts about a relationship may be happy to be in your presence one day, but will start to have doubts about things the very next day. This will cause him to shower you with gift and flowers on Friday night and then ignore all of your phone calls on Saturday.

Little does he know, being on the receiving end of a partner who's blowing hot and cold won't cause you to breakup with him. Instead, it will probably make you hold on to the relationship even tighter. When things or going good, you feel an intense high, but when he shuns you, you will try desperately to regain his attention and affection. This type of relationship is bound to come to an end at some point because it creates a toxic atmosphere. So do yourself and favor and dump him before your self-esteem is severely damaged.

11 Overly-Aggressive

When a guy knows the relationship is on its last legs but he doesn't have the guts to dump you, you will watch him transform from the nice guy you feel in love with into a monster. His lashing out is his way of showing his discontentment with the way things are going, and he may direct it at you, family members or total strangers.

When a man becomes overly-aggressive and hotheaded seemingly over night, it's definitely a sign that you should do yourself a favor and end things once and for all. His erratic behavior will make you feel like you're walking on eggshells whenever he's around, and the longer you sit in silence without standing up for yourself, the worse his behavior will become.

Now's the time to get out of the relationship before things take a turn for the worst. Love should never make you feel terrified, afraid or scared. If your boyfriend is acting out to try and push your buttons so that you will leave him, just know that things will never get better if they've gotten to this point. It's time to walk away.

10 Telling Lies

If your boyfriend went from the most honest person you've ever met to a pathological liar, it could be a sign that he's reaching into his bag of mind tricks to push you far away from him.

Let's face it, everyone lies, but some of us definitely lie more than others. If your boyfriend has started to lie about big and small things in your relationship, it's a sign that he doesn't value nor respect you, and if you can't find the strength to breakup with him, he'll likely be the one to end things once he's down with all the mind tricks.

A guy who's over the relationship will lie about working extra hours so that he doesn't have to spend time with you, he will lie about talking to other women, and he will frequently lie about his whereabouts. Just know, when a guy starts to lie, he definitely has something to hide. You may or may not find out why he has resorted to lying to you, but the fact that he feels like he can disrespect you by not telling you the truth should be enough for you to end the relationship with him once and for all.

9 Pushing Your Buttons

Some men resort to this immature mind game to make you angry, and then they will try to use your anger against you! If you've been with your boyfriend for long enough, he probably knows all of the right buttons to push to get you mad. In a loving relationship, your partner will avoid pushing these buttons to keep the peace, but when he's done with the relationship, he will want to bring out the worst in you.

If you find that you and your boyfriend are arguing more than usual, he's hitting below the belt, and he's picking on you in ways that he knows will set you off, there's a strong chance that he's using this manipulative technique against you. As soon as you blow up at him, he will gladly take on the role as the “victim” in the situation. He may find it easier to end the relationship at this point and blame it on your temper.

8 Using Intimacy as a Weapon

Before a relationship officially comes to an end, intimacy is usually one of the first things to leave the building. If you're not aware that your partner is having second thoughts about you and the relationship, you may feel confused by the sudden lack of affection. If the two of you went from being hot and heavy to all of a sudden he's sleeping on the couch and cringing every time you come within two feet of him, just know that there's definitely something wrong.

Some men will even use intimacy as a weapon against you when they're over the relationship by withholding intimacy as a form of punishment. Women are taught that all men are driven by their desire to get some action in the bedroom, so when he turns you down at the the end of the night, it will definitely feel like a big blow to your ego.

A breakup will be soon to come, but not after he continues to deny and reject you in the bedroom.

7 Increased Doubt

A partner who loves and supports you no matter what will be by your side during the good and bad times. He will always have your back, you will trust him, and you will know that he always has your good interests at heart. But sadly, when a guy is thinking about ending a relationship, he may deploy this sneaky mind game to increase doubt inside of you.

Your once loving and supportive boyfriend may ridicule you for everything that you do, he may play on your insecurities and use them against you, and he will point out all of your weaknesses to further drive your self-esteem into the ground. These tactics will make you begin to doubt yourself and your abilities. Soon enough, you will start to rely on him more. You will seek his approval for everything you do and everything you say. You will become even more clingy and needy, and this is when the relationship will really come to an end.

6 Backhanded Compliments

Many manipulators use backhanded compliments as a way to assert their dominance in a relationship. The guy who's thinking of ending things with you will also use this mind game when he's fed up with the relationship and looking for a way out.

Women love to be told by their partners how beautiful and how smart they are. These compliments can help boost a woman's confidence, and it can also reassure her that her partner is still in love and attracted to her.

When your boyfriend has thoughts of breaking up with you, his once nice and sweet compliments will turn into backhanded compliments. Instead of telling you how nice you look, he will say, “You look amazing in that dress, but I hate when you wear those shoes.” Or, “I love it when you wear your hair in a ponytail but it makes your ears look much bigger than they are.” Don't fall for his tricks and you definitely shouldn't sink to his level by starting an argument after he makes one of his sly remarks. Just take it as a sign that the relationship is probably over.

5 Unfair Comparisons

At the start of your relationship, your boyfriend probably made you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He would constantly tell you how no other woman compares to you. Although you knew there were women out there who were smarter, in better shape and more beautiful, the compliments you received from your boyfriend really made you feel like you were the best woman in his eyes. Finally you found someone who loved and appreciate you for your flaws and all!

But now that the thrill is gone, the honeymoon phase is over, and your boyfriend has checked out of the relationship, all of those compliments will come to a screeching halt. Instead, he will start to make unfair comparisons between you and other women. This is his way of hurting you to the point that maybe you'll get enough strength to end things so that he doesn't have to do the dumping.

If you've noticed that your boyfriend is comparing you to women in magazines, celebrities and random girls walking down the street, don't put up with it. He's playing a sick mind game on you and you don't deserve it!

4 Flirting in Front of You

When a relationship is coming to an end, a guy will be reckless and disrespectful with his behavior. He no longer feels a need to respect you or treat you like you're important. He knows your days together are numbered, so he will start behaving as if he's single before he even hands you your walking papers.

A guy who is completely over the relationship but doesn't have the guts to dump you will flirt with other girls right in front of your face. It doesn't matter who she is or how attractive she is, he will go out of his way to smile, wink and be inappropriate with members of the opposite sex right there in your presence. This mind game is his way of letting you know that you are replaceable.

Him flirting in front of you is bound to spark jealousy and a bunch of arguments. He secretly hopes that maybe you will get fed up and dump him, but if your self-esteem is already low from the other mind games he has played, you may hold on tighter to this bad situation. If you're looking for some strength to move on from him, just know that a man who truly loves you would never disrespect you in any way!

3 Unreasonable Demands

Now that he knows there's no hope for your relationship, your boyfriend will put you through a serious of test and tricks as a way to push you away from him. One of the most common mind games a guy plays when he's done with the relationship is to make unreasonable demands. The more outlandish and absurd the better. When you fail to meet his demands, he will likely use it as an excuse to finally end things with you.

Unreasonable demands can be something as simple as him asking you to run an errand for him during your lunch break. The errand requires you to drive to the other end of town, and you simply don't have enough time to get it done and make it back to work in time. But if you refuse to complete his request, he will probably throw a hissy fit and lash out at you. And you know what happens next, right? You end up running the errand for him just to make him happy. But by doing this, you're giving in to his mind game, and it will only cause him to request even more unreasonable demands in the future.

Of course you want to help your partner out as much as you can, but if you feel like his demands are unreasonable, then it's probably a setup and one of his many mind tricks that he will use before ending the relationship.

2 Projecting Insecurities

People who resort to mind games usually suffer from low self-esteem and insecurities. Instead of owning up to their own problems, they will use various mind tricks against their partners to cause more confusion and chaos in the relationship. He knows that anyone with a healthy sense of self won't put up with these mind games for long, so he's counting down the days until you finally crack and initiate a breakup.

A guy who's manipulating you will force his insecurities on you to get a reaction. If you catch him snooping through your phone, he will tell you he doesn't trust you because he has been cheated on in the past. He will consistently explain away his bad behavior by making it seem like you're the one with the problem. His struggles with his own self worth will soon rub off on you, and before you know it, the two of you are in a merry-go-round of bad behavior, insecurity, lack of trust and discontent!

1 Accusing You of Cheating

I hate to break it to you, but if your guy is thinking about ending your relationship, it's likely he already has his plan B woman in place. Instead of being forthcoming and telling you he's moving on, he will actually accuse you of being the cheater. This is a damaging mind game that some men play to make themselves feel better about cheating on their girlfriends.

If you've been loyal to your boyfriend throughout your relationship, and he never had a reason to doubt you, you will be taken aback once he starts to accuse you of cheating. When you go out with your girls on Saturday night, he will text you and call you all night to make sure you're not “talking to other guys.” He will start going through your text messages and emails to try and catch you in the act, and he will question you about any male friends that you have.

If he is constantly accusing you of cheating for no reason, you need to begin to question his motives. It's likely he's the one doing the cheating, but he's hoping that all of the accusations will push you to your breaking point. Don't fall for this mind game. Instead, you need to do some digging of your own to find out what he's hiding.