22/01/2026
Totally agree with this 👌
Gaslighting can happen in many different ways.
From a psychological perspective, gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation where responsibility is consistently shifted away from the person’s behaviour and onto the other person’s reaction.
Instead of accountability, the focus becomes: “You’re too sensitive,” “You’re overreacting,” or “That’s not what happened.”
Over time, this pattern erodes self-trust. The nervous system stays in a state of hypervigilance, cognition becomes clouded by self-doubt, and the individual may begin questioning their own perceptions, memory, and emotional reality. Research links chronic gaslighting to increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, lowered self-esteem, and difficulty making decisions.
A key marker to watch for:
➡️ Healthy communication allows space to discuss actions, impact, and repair.
➡️ Gaslighting avoids actions entirely and fixates on your tone, your feelings, or your response.
Emotional accountability is not blame—it’s ownership. When someone refuses to examine their behaviour and instead pathologizes your reaction, that’s not conflict resolution. That’s control dressed up as conversation.
Clarity is power. Your feelings don’t need to be minimized for someone else’s comfort—and being affected by harmful behaviour does not make you the problem.
