u/Low_Perspective_4252

I’ve been struggling to fit into social groups and always get singled out as an easy target. Without any allies it’s a very vulnerable position to be in, so I’m turning to these books for help. The 48 LoP seems suited for starting out alone, while the 33 LoW appears to be for acting with a group. I wonder if this is true, or if the 33 LoW is also useful for individually focused movements.

What determines who gets the upper hand? What are the dynamics at play?

I have learned from experience that there is only a certain amount of energy you can give before you completely give up on people. After taking enough pain I have completely lost the desire to engage in legitimate social interactions because of how often I am taken advantage of and left disappointed. It has left me emotionally volatile and constantly irritated at minor issues because my energy for dealing with anything is just completely gone.

It manifests as a lack of energy and losing empathy for people in general, to the point where I genuinely can’t care about how I act to other people, because I no longer have the consideration to spare. I feel completely stuck in life and can’t remember what I was wanting to get out of it to begin with, have a hard time learning new skills or which ones I need to succeed, etc. I feel almost “evil” with how quickly I lose respect for other people who disappoint me. I frequently will match people’s aggression or make fun of it if I think they’ll try to twist reality if I escalate first.

At this point, I am not even fully sure if I should to go back from being cynical, because the people who engage in this do way better during the long run in my experience.

Based on this post:
How do I stop laughing at insults directed at me? I’m tired of being the easy target. : r/DarkPsychology101

After reading that post I am reminded of a similar type of experience I'm constantly receiving from superiors, people with higher perceived social status and support, and others. It's not easy for me to describe it in words, but I will do my best.

I've had times when people will insert themselves into a conversation between me and another, then express doubt in what I'm saying and sit there without saying anything else. Sometimes they nitpick every little thing I say or do to misrepresent me, either by completely twisting what I'm saying, or sometimes making fun of it, then simply refusing to speak any further. I've noticed a pattern where they engage, drop a statement that feels like they're trying to undermine me, and then withdraw to try and get under my skin. My best way to summarize this would be as the social equivalent of a hit-and-run where they're being very slippery and hard to pin down on anything.

They will bring up some random thing I did in the past and act like that automatically invalidates everything I do. It's extremely annoying, and people keep doing it because I try to continue around it instead of expressing my annoyance. It's clearly intentional, because they're unpredictable in how they will either drop a comment and leave, or will fully commit to inserting themselves into my conversation. I

It's one thing to use awkward silence against aggressive people and your own people-pleasing tendencies, but it looks like having it weaponized requires a different strategy. Has anyone managed to overcome this kind of behavior? What is the ideal way to deal with this instead of just dancing around it and looking like an easy target?