Gaslighting 10 Warning Signs of it.

Gaslighting is the process of influencing someone to get them to doubt their own reality. Although the phrase didn't become widely used in English until the middle of the 2010s, it is derived from the name of a British stage play Gas Light (1938) by Patrick Hamilton.

A "gaslighter" is someone who provides a false story to another group or individual, forcing them to doubt their observations and cause them to feel misled, confused, or disturbed. This is frequently done for the benefit of the gaslighter. Typically, this dynamic is only achievable when the audience is weak, such as in situations where power imbalances exist, or when they are afraid of the losses that would result from disputing the false narrative.

10 Warning Signs of Gaslighting.

1. You constantly need outside input to define "normal" for you, which further confirms that you don't fit into its boundary gasps. You don't feel like you fit in anywhere, like you're an outcast, and you feel incredibly different from others. This feeling is being artificially encouraged by the abuser. Lighters do this to establish control by influencing your perception of oneself.
2. You question and doubt yourself no matter how you define yourself having your own definition or image of who you are is important because it helps us define our values and beliefs, forming the unique and valuable you. Unfortunately, one of the goals of the gas lighter is to shatter this definition through persistent lies like they know you better then yourself. which makes victim to start doubting things they know about themselves because of the intensity of the persistent contradiction.
3. Have you ever heard or witnessed someone comment that you used to be so outgoing? If so, what changed? Have you ever observed a noticeable shift in yourself? Did this significant change seem to happen shortly before a particular individual entered? Self-esteem and mental health are closely related. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, low self-esteem can cause depression, anxiety, and even addiction. Abusers actively work to lower your self-esteem by putting you down and pointing out your flaws, even if they are untrue. This behaviour continues until you become discouraged and think you aren't worthy of healthy self-esteem.
4. You become depressed, feeling unstable with your brain in a shambles makes you more susceptible to depression, and your sentiments of sadness and hopelessness are trivialised. The gas lighter will tell you that you're overreacting or that you're just being crazy.
5. To blame the abuser may hold you accountable for a number of things. Regardless of whether any of these charges are true, the abuser will keep insisting on it until you feel guilty by distorting the facts and twisting arguments to place the blame on you.
6. Gas lighters regularly let you down because they don't follow through on their promises and their actions don't match what they say; instead, they thrive on leaving their victims in suspense. They continuously uphold their promises but never deliver, leaving you wondering for uncertainty.
7. We don't usually let liars into our lives because we catch the lie, draw the line, and establish the boundary. Gas lighters don't make it as easy because they lie subtle ways at first and then more frequently until the manipulated person can no longer tell the difference between fabrication and reality.
8. Your anxieties are exploited by gas lighters in order to force you to comply with their demands. They will capitalise on this fear by feeding it, making it a constant threat warning that if you don't change your behaviour to match their expectations, you'll be left alone forever.
9. You are cut off from others. If you're wondering where your close friends have gone or why there are now barely acquaintances, it could be due to manipulated isolation. The gas lighter excites others to push you to become more dependent on them. They'll spread lies and so distrust and you and everyone around you, making the gas lighter appear to be the only reliable figure. This benefits them even more because your isolation means no one knows what's going on with you and no one can help.
10. In general, it's a good thing to be curious about things. Asking questions is a great way to learn, so of course you can count on a gas lighter to ruin it. Instead of asking questions to gain knowledge or enlightenment, you're now questioning your sanity and every aspect of your own reality, shattering it in the process. The horrifying repeated insistence that you're crazy or making everything up eventually destroys anything that was once stable. Without that firm foundation, you begin to wonder if all the terrible things they say are true.

 

Despite the regrettable potential for long-term damage, being treated in the manners described above is neither positively normal nor healthy at all. Recovery is attainable; being aware of the warning signs is the first step in protecting yourself against manipulation, which can then lead to the healing process. Share this with someone who might benefit form it, and never be hesitant to ask for help.