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I've seen too many people on this app throwing around the term "gaslighting" so casually without knowing what it means, so here's a thread on what gaslighting actually is and what is/isn't gaslighting. RTs are appreciated.
Gaslighting is manipulating someone psychologically to the point that they begin to question themself and their sanity so you can hold power over them. Gaslighting is a repeated behavior, it isn't a one-time thing.
Some signs of gaslighting are blatantly denying that events ever happened (ex: saying "I don't know what you're talking about, I never said/did that" when you bring up something they did), telling repeated lies so you can never tell if what they're saying is the truth or not, -
- telling you that everyone else is lying to you, constantly saying things like "you're crazy", and more. I'll link an article about the warning signs of gaslighting at the end of this thread.
As I said before, gaslighting is NOT a one-time behavior. It's a repeated behavior that's intended to gradually wear you down as time progresses. Gaslighting is primarily more intentional than unintentional, though it can happen unintentionally.
As you can tell, manipulation plays a huge role in gaslighting, however that doesn't mean all manipulation = gaslighting. Manipulation is primarily about getting what you want, and while it can be a repeated behavior over time it can also be a one-time thing. Gaslighting is -
- about holding control and power over someone, and it's always a repeated behavior. In short, gaslighting is always manipulation but manipulation isn't always gaslighting.
I think that just about covers it for now, please let me know if you have anymore questions. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/11-warning-signs-gaslighting
