To begin with, gaslighting is when someone tries to make someone believe that they are crazy or even feel like they are in the wrong. It can be easy to be a victim of gaslighting, therefore I will go over some of the most common ways people try to gaslight.
“You got it all wrong”:
When you feel like no matter what you say or do is wrong and someone always tries to prove it. Then most likely you are being the victim of gaslighting. It may not even be the intention but we all know how it feels to have someone that we trust or someone that we like tell us that we are wrong. This is a sign that you should consider to look for and decide whether you really are wrong in your actions or if the person just says you are so that you can fall victim to potential manipulation.
“Am I crazy”
When you begin to feel like your mental health is being questioned by yourself, you should ask why you feel this way. The answer may simply be due to overthinking and that could be normal. But overthinking can also be the result of gaslighting that can lead to you questioning your own sanity. We aren’t perfect creatures but we can understand when we make ourselves overthink and when someone else makes us overthink. So it's always best to make sure that you are thinking for yourself and no one is making you feel crazy.
“But they are nice”
We have to be aware that sometimes it is the people closest to us that have the ability to hurt us and manipulate us. Having people you trust is amazing and the feeling is incomparable but that also leaves a very open window to being manipulated. This is the reason people tend to have trust issues. The way to get rid of the trust issues isn’t to stop trusting everyone. There are healthier ways to deal with that. One that I can think of is to give more time for a relationship/ friendship to be built. Shutting yourself forever won’t be good for anyone, and that can lead to more problems in the future.
Always remember that this isn’t supposed to be one size fits all. It can be helpful to understand some simple cues so that we can be more aware of potential threats. I also do not believe that using this information to diagnose someone or oneself is correct. Please seek mental health support HERE if you feel like you are being a victim of abuse. It is never okay for anyone to mentally abuse another person.
