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This Common Dating Habit Can Quietly Destroy Your Confidence

Negging uses insults and backhanded compliments to chip away at confidence, and experts say the best response is often no response at all.

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Growing up, you might have heard something along the lines of, “If someone is mean to you, it just means they like you!” While this behavior might seem innocent and even endearing between two children on the playground, it’s not quite so excusable in adulthood. And yet, it’s actually become a common (albeit manipulative) form of communication: negging.

Negging is a negative, manipulative behavior that involves intentionally degrading or insulting someone (usually a partner or romantic interest) in an attempt to knock their confidence. Typically, the goal is to make the other person feel so insecure that they begin to seek validation from the negging partner, relying on them for their self-worth.

“Negging is one of the more unpleasant strategies developed by toxic male........

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