Gaslighting: The Mind F**ck Game Everyone should Know About.

Have you ever questioned yourself after an argument with someone? Maybe they make you second-guess your memory of something that happened or they downplay your feelings, causing you to question if you’re overreacting. They turn the story around to make it seem like you are at fault, deflecting attention and blame away from them to make you feel guilty. This type of emotional manipulation is called gaslighting.
Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse where a person makes you doubt yourself or question your account of an incident. Gaslighting can come from a romantic partner, a boss, a friend, or anyone else. It is done to gain power over you and avoid responsibility for the abuse that is being inflicted. Gaslighting is incredibly harmful because it makes you question your own sanity, can lead to anxiety, depression and can even trigger nervous breakdowns. Here are a few signs to help you tell if you or someone you know is experiencing this form of emotional abuse.

Withholding" is one gaslighting technique where the abuser feigns a lack of understanding, refuses to listen and declines to share his emotions.
Gaslighting examples of this would be. "I'm not listening to that crap again tonight."  "You're just trying to confuse me."

Another gaslighting technique is "countering," where an abuser will vehemently call into question a victim's memory in spite of the victim having remembered things correctly.
"Think about when you didn't remember things correctly last time."
"You thought that last time and you were wrong.

These techniques throw the victim off the intended subject matter and make them question their own motivations and perceptions rather than the issue at hand.
It is then that the abuser will start to question the experiences, thoughts, and opinions more globally through statements said in anger like:"You see everything in the most negative way."
"Well you obviously never believed in me then.""You have an overactive imagination."

Blocking and "diverting" are gaslighting techniques whereby the abuser again changes the conversation from the subject matter to questioning the victim's thoughts and controlling the conversation. Gaslighting examples of this include:"I'm not going through that again." "Where did you get a crazy idea like that?" "Quit bitching.""You're hurting me on purpose."

"Trivializing" is another way of gaslighting. It involves making the victim believe his or her thoughts or needs aren't important, such as: "You're going to let something like that come between us?"

Abusive "forgetting" and "denial" can also be forms of gaslighting. In this technique, the abuser pretends to forget things that have really occurred; the abuser may also deny things like promises that have been made that are important to the victim. An abuser might say,"What are you talking about?" "I don't have to take this.""You're making that up."

Some gaslighters will then mock the victim for their "wrongdoings" and "misperceptions."

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these behaviors, don’t hesitate to take action. Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and can be very devastating for anyone who experiences this type of manipulation

gaslighting

http://www.thehotline.org/what-is-gaslighting/?gclid=CN3WuPun6tECFZWCswod3IcMkw