[New post] What Is Gaslighting? First and Foremost, Gaslighters need Professional Help, Not You 😔
@peacewriter51 posted: " Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves Most victims of" Peace & Truth
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious, and unable to trust themselves Most victims of gaslighting are female. Gaslighting consist of elements of the Dark Tetrad: Sadism, Lack of Empathy and Machiavellianism. Gaslighting […]
Gaslighting is so harmful because it promotes anxiety and depression, and with enough frequency in our lives, can sometimes trigger nervous breakdowns. So the question now is: are you being
gaslighted? How can you know whether you're experiencing this subtle form of manipulation in
your life? Review the following tell-tale signs:
Something is "off" about your friend, partner, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother,
colleagues, boss, or another person in your life… but you can't quite explain or pinpoint what.
You frequently second-guess your ability to remember the details of past events leaving you
psychologically powerless.
You feel confused and disorientated.
You feel threatened and on-edge around this person, but you don't know why.
You feel the need to apologize all the time for what you do or who you are. 6. You never quite feel "good enough" and try to live up to the expectations and demands of
others, even if they are unreasonable or harm you in some way.
You feel like there's something fundamentally wrong with you, e.g. you're neurotic or are "losing it."
You feel like you're constantly overreacting or are "too sensitive." 9. You feel isolated, hopeless, misunderstood and depressed.
You find it hard to trust your own judgment, and given a choice, you choose to believe the
judgment of the abuser.
You feel scared and as though "something is terribly wrong," but you don't know what or why. You find it hard to make decisions because you distrust yourself.
You feel as though you're a much weaker version of yourself, and you were much more strong and confident in the past. You feel guilty for not feeling happy like you used to.
You've become afraid of "speaking up" or expressing your emotions, so you stay silent
instead.
TACTICS USED BY THE GASLIGHTER
Gaslighters use a variety of subtle techniques to undermine your reality and portray you as the disturbed and messed up one.
These include, for example:
• Discrediting you by making other people think that you're crazy, irrational, or unstable. • Using a mask of confidence, assertiveness, and or fake compassion to make you believe that you "have it all wrong." Therefore, eventually, you begin to doubt yourself and believe their version of past events.
• Changing the subject.
The gaslighter may divert the topic by asking another question, or making a statement usually directed at your thoughts, e.g. "You're imagining things-that never happened!" "No, you're wrong, you didn't remember right." "Is that another crazy idea you got from your (family member or friend)?"
• Minimizing.
By trivializing how you feel and what you think, the gaslighter gains more and more power over you, e.g. "Why are you being so sensitive?" "You don't need to get angry over a little thing like that!" "I was just joking around, why are you taking things so seriously?"
• Denial and avoidance. By refusing to acknowledge your feelings and thoughts, the gaslighter
causes you to doubt yourself more and more.
For example, "I don't remember that, you musthave dreamt it!" "You're lying, I never said that." "I don't know what you're talking about,
you're changing the subject."
Twisting and reframing.
When the gaslighter confidently and subtly twists and reframes what was said or done in their favor, they can cause you to second-guess yourself-especially when paired with fake compassion, making you feel as though you are "unstable," "irrational," and so forth.
For example, "I didn't say that I said, " "I didn't beat you up Johnny, I just gave you a smack around the head that's what all good fathers do." "If you remember correctly, I was trying to help you."
Peace & Truth
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