Mental Health Gaslighting

nuttynutskin

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2011
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Has anyone ever experienced this? I never even knew what it was until just recently. I've had this done to me before on a relatively minor level.

 
Wikipedia Link

I have experienced this in a previous relationship. He made me start to question my own thoughts and perceptions to gain control over me. It's something that's very powerful and a warning sign to get out of the situation before things escalate further.
 
Wow.. I didn't know there was a name for this... Yeah I have..
 
I didn't know there was a name for this shit either. My ex was/is a master of making up what actually happened such as trying to make me believe that events that didn't happen at all or didn't happen anything like i remembered them where real. When i didn't accept her version of events she tried to blame it on me being delirious from pneumonia on one occasion and other times being high.

She is a pathological liar and definitely has some traits of a sociopath so i guess that goes with it. Fucking with peoples emotions and just fucking with peoples heads in general is a pass time for her it seems to amuse herself :| . Only took me about 2 years to admit that :\ . Then she wonders why no friends she has ever stick around very long 8) . Honestly if she told me the sky was blue id go outside just to check.
 
Someone has attempted to use this technique on me, but it was executed rather poorly. It is too bad that my memory is impeccable. :)

ebola
 
This is a good video if you can get over the annoying voice, and dark souls could be replaced with narcissists (they're the same things)...



I had some of this going on the last 3 days with a certain family member in case anyone needs an example. (VENT WARNING LOL)...

Once a month I have someone pick up my rx for me since I don't have a car anymore and the pharmacy is not close to my house. So I talk to the family member that usually does it Tuesday, but she's not sure she can because she has other obligations. She tells me to see if the family member I live with can (he shops at the same store quite a bit), but that she'll call me the next day to let me know what's going on. After I talk to her I ask the family member I live with if he can do it if she can't and he says yes. So I figure since we were also out of some groceries I would just see if he wanted to wait to do it all then (would save him a trip and my other family member the hassle), to which he responds that he doesn't plan ahead that far. So I'm like ok but I just need to know because it would be less of a hassle for the other family member if he could. He responds that I'm changing things around and trying to manipulate him. We get in a brief argument and he changes his mind and says he's not going to do it. I respond something like I just need to get my rx I don't care who does it, to which he responds arrogantly that he doesn't care either.

Wednesday rolls around and I don't hear from the family member that said she'd call me, and I don't speak to the family member I live with. He ends up going grocery shopping at the same place where the pharmacy is (but my prescription can't be picked up til the 1st).

Thursday I wake up and call my other family member and she answers this time. I'm slightly annoyed but it turned out something came up so no big deal. But here's the kicker... She tells me she cant do it because she's going out of town but that the family member I live with called her and left a message asking what was going on (in regards to picking up my medication). I guess she called him back and he said he would do it. So I talk to him and tell him I talked to her and that I got the message that he was going to pick it up now, and also mention that he basically changed his mind twice. He just responded laughingly that that's not really how it was or some shit. I didn't make a big deal, but fuck. He was basically able to fuck with me when I was just trying to make things easier on everyone, but still come out the hero since after all he is the one picking up my medication. So I don't know, if anyone even cared to read all of this am I overreacting or is this a good example?
 
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I've seen this used on some scale by everyone from dishonest alcoholics to schoolyard bullies.
 
I know someone who does this in a minor way. They will say something about past events that have happened to me, and then when I ask them about them they'll deny saying exactly what I remember them saying, and they'll claim I'm delusional, not comprehending something, and that my memory is horrible when it is not. This causes us to have a verbal argument, and I wind up not trusting them.
 
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