You may have heard this being told to you by a friend, a spouse, or a colleague. “I did nothing.” “Who said I did it?”. There is a term for this in psychology, that they coin as gaslighting or narcissistic behavior. But have you ever wondered what gaslighting may be? You may have gotten it from a psychological assessment or even in literary books or stories.
Gaslighting is a term coined in psychology that states it is a form of abuse. A form of emotional abuse that is most commonly connected to narcissistic behavior. Gaslighting makes you question your reality, your memories, your sanity and even yourself.
Now that we know what gaslighting is and the signs of being gaslighted, the next thing we need to know is how to avoid it. If you believe there is no way to avoid this, there are actually ways. This is only when you are familiar with what is going on.
Remember this, when you are gaslighted, the manipulator wants you to believe that your side of the story does not exist. To avoid this, make daily narrative reports or notes about your day, write out every single detail and the words or the conversation you may have. Add the people who you may have encountered during that day and list them down. That way, the next time you feel like you are being gaslighted, you have the notes to prove that you are not losing yourself.
One thing that manipulators especially narcissists would love to get you to is arguing. They love to argue and for some reasons, often find a loop hole that they believe would make them win. The best thing to do before you get pulled in, is to avoid arguing with the person at all costs. It is not worth your dignity nor your mental health. If you are not sure about anything you may also take some mental health assessment.
Do research on the tell tale signs of gaslighting. Not only will this help you, it will also help others around you. If you are not as completely sure if you are a victim of gaslighting, you may take an authentic assessment. But always keep your options open, do research, understand the reason why they gaslight you and how to be able to avoid it completely. How to cut toxic people regardless of who they are out of your life.
One thing to learn how to avoid getting gaslighted is to know your boundaries. Let everyone know that this or these are your boundaries and if they do not respect you for it, cut them off. It is always best to have people who understand and respect you and your personal space than to let others walk over you disrespecting everything about you.
As easy as it is to say than to get done, never be afraid to ask for help from someone. May it be from a family member that you trust, a friend or a doctor. Seeking help from people does not make you feel less of a person, nor does it make you weak. Rather, it makes you strong and you are really putting yourself first and your mental and emotional health.
Gaslighting is a term coined in psychology that means a kind or a form of emotional and mental manipulation, that usually happens in both personal and professional relationships. This type of abuse can easily be hidden especially if the person watching does not know about this type of manipulation.
When it comes to nature vs nurture, people who gaslight often come from a bad home, a bad childhood, or even worse, their personal trait is affected by the environment they grow up in. In some cultures, they see gaslighting as a form of abuse, while others see it as something normal or part of the norm. There is no real reason as to why people gaslight. Gaslighting as we know is a form of mental and emotional abuse. The reason why some people do it is, they enjoy hurting others. They enjoy letting others know that they are the boss.
The common signs of a person being gaslighted are: they ask for forgiveness even for the smallest things, they have no self-confidence or very little to no self-confidence. They are also paranoid of some people. These are just some of the signs of someone being gaslighted, as well as having to ask if something really happened. As those who suffer from this are often told their version of reality does not exist.
As we know that gaslighting is a type of warning label often used by people against others without consent. The signs are: makes you question yourself, insists you have amnesia, insensitive of your needs, apologizing for a lot of things, and less to no self confidence.
People who gaslight others are aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it. They do not hold a person’s worth any value. It goes without saying, being emotionally and mentally bullied or abuse is not a funny business whatsoever. It is not something that people can just shrug off as if it were nothing. It is not something that people can choose to ignore and go on with their lives. Gaslighting is real and there are a lot of people who are suffering from it but have no idea what it is about or what should they do about it.
