10 Signs of Gaslighting to Watch Out for In Personal and Professional Life

Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation that aims to make the victim question their own sanity, memory, or perception of events. (Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash)
Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation. (Photo via Unsplash/Tachina Lee)

Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation that aims to make the victim question their own sanity, memory, or perception of events.

It's a subtle and insidious form of abuse that can occur in both personal and professional relationships. The term 'gaslighting' comes from the 1938 stage play and 1944 film 'Gas Light', in which a husband manipulates his wife into thinking she's losing her mind by dimming the gas lights in their home and insisting that she's imagining it.


Forms of gaslighting

It can take many forms and can be difficult to recognize. The manipulator may deny that certain events occurred or insist that they happened differently than the victim remembers.

They may suggest that the victim is imagining things or overreacting and that they're the only one who can be trusted to understand the situation. They may also isolate the victim from friends, family, and other support systems to make them more dependent on the manipulator.

Gaslighting can also involve blaming the victim for the manipulator's own behavior, lying and contradicting themselves, exploiting the victim's insecurities, trivializing the victim's concerns, and constantly shifting the rules of the relationship. They may also use guilt-tripping, threatening, or other forms of manipulation to control the victim.

Over time, gaslighting can have a profound impact on the victim's mental health, causing them to doubt their own reality and to feel like they're losing their mind. It can also lead to feelings of shame, guilt, and self-doubt, and make it difficult for the victim to trust themselves or others.


Signs of gaslighting

Gaslighting can require support to get over. (Photo via Unsplash/Anthony Tran)
Gaslighting can require support to get over. (Photo via Unsplash/Anthony Tran)

It's important to recognize the signs of gaslighting and to seek support from friends, family, or a therapist if you suspect you're being gaslighted.

It's also important to remember that you're not alone and that you deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. Gaslighting is a form of abuse and should not be tolerated.

Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation in which an individual or group makes someone question their own sanity, memory, or perception of events. That can happen in both personal and professional relationships and can be a subtle and insidious form of abuse.

Here're ten signs to watch out for gaslighting in your personal or professional life:

#1 Constant questioning of your memories or perception of events: The gaslighter may deny that certain events occurred or insist that they happened differently than you remember.

#2 Making you doubt your own sanity: The gaslighter may suggest that you are imagining things or overreacting and that they're the only one who can be trusted to understand the situation.

#3 Isolation from friends, family, and other support systems: The gaslighter may try to cut you off from those who can provide a different perspective or validate your experience.

#4 Blaming you for their own behavior: The gaslighter may deny their own actions and blame you for any problems in the relationship.

#5 Manipulating you with lies and contradictions: The gaslighter may say one thing and then deny it later, or make promises they have no intention of keeping.

#6 Using your insecurities against you: The gaslighter may exploit your fears, insecurities, or vulnerabilities to control you.

#7 Trivializing your concerns: The gaslighter may make light of the problems in the relationship and suggest that you're overreacting.

#8 Constantly shifting the goalposts: The gaslighter may change the rules of the relationship without warning or make you feel like you can never meet their expectations.

#9 Using guilt-tripping, threatening, or other forms of manipulation to control you: The gaslighter may use fear, guilt, or shame to make you comply with their demands.

#10 Making you feel like you're going crazy: The gaslighter may make you doubt your own reality and make you feel like you're losing your mind.


Gaslighting (Photo via Unsplash/Joice Kelly)
Gaslighting (Photo via Unsplash/Joice Kelly)

It's important to recognize the signs of gaslighting and to seek support from friends, family, or a therapist if you suspect you're being gaslighted. It's also important to remember that you're not alone and that you deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.

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