Gaslighting in Relationships: Warning Signs and Finding Help

Have you been conditioned to question the world around you as well as your own judgment? Has your significant other led you to feel like you are losing your grip on reality because their words do not match their actions?

Gaslighting is a serious form of manipulation and one that is only now gaining the attention that it deserves.

Let’s take a closer look at gaslighting in order to understand what it is, how to identify the signs, and how we can overcome this toxicity when leaving an abusive relationship.

What Is Gaslighting?

Gaslighting has been an incredibly important term in the recent zeitgeist. Known as a form of manipulation primarily found in abusive relationships, gaslighting involves the covert use of emotional abuse to mislead others into questioning their own judgment and that of the world around them. Gaslighting is an incredibly serious topic and victims of this manipulation are often left wondering if they are ultimately losing their grasp on reality.

While ostensibly more common in romantic relationships, gaslighting is an abusive tactic found between friends, coworkers, and even family members.

Primary Signs of Gaslighting

Gaslighting can be presented in a number of ways, depending on the individual and application. The throughline of all attempts at gaslighting, however, is the same: to make an individual question their overall perception of reality. Gaslighting can lead you to second-guess yourself as well as your memories.

Here are a few ways gaslighting may manifest.

• Constant Lies – Gaslighting is often done through chronic and habitual lying. The offender will never back down from their lie nor will they change their story, resorting to statements like, “You’re making that up, it never even happened.”
• Avoiding Your Thoughts / Feelings – In order for a gaslighter to control and exert power over their victim, they must trivialize their victim’s emotions. Gaslighters often say things like “Stop being sensitive” or “Stop overreacting.”
• Forcing Constant Apologies – Does everything is perpetually your fault in their eyes? If you feel alone, powerless, or are constantly being forced to apologize, you may be experiencing gaslighting.

Victims of gaslighting can feel weak, powerless, minimized, and ‘less-than’ they were before. Identifying these signs and finding help is an important step on the road to the future.

Find Help with the Sampair Group

Leaving a relationship can be among the most difficult of times for a victim of gaslighting. The Sampair Group focuses on handling the most simple and complex of family law matters on behalf of their clients throughout Maricopa County.

The Sampair Group offers free consultations with their high-conflict resolution attorneys. Schedule a consultation at your convenience!