33 www.rnca.ca AreYou Missing the Signs of Gaslighting? Designed by Freepik By Stephanie Thurrott • Feb 19, 2025 Key Takeaways: 1. Recognizing Gaslighting Tactics: Gaslighting often involves subtle behaviors like distorting reality, shutting down communication or making victims question their memories and feelings. Over time, this can undermine a person's selfconfidence and perception of reality. 2. Manipulation in Everyday Interactions: Examples of gaslighting include minimizing concerns, feigning concern, denying promises and diverting conversations. These tactics serve to control, avoid accountability, and maintain a power imbalance in relationships. 3. Healthy Communication vs. Abuse: While some gaslighting behaviors may stem from poor communication skills, an unwillingness to change, manipulation or threats are clear signs of abuse. Open dialogue and a willingness to improve are essential for a healthy relationship. Gaslighting is a type of emotional and psychological abuse where an abuser convinces a survivor that abuse didn’t actually happen or wasn’t nearly as bad as they remember. Abusers use gaslighting to undermine and manipulate. They want survivors to feel unsure about their memories and to doubt their own instincts. If you do, they can continue to exert their power and control with less of a chance that you’ll protest, question their motives or think about leaving. But if the whole point of this insanityinducing tactic is to make you doubt yourself, how can you trust your instincts that you’re being gaslighted to begin with? On the following pages are a few scenarios. See if you can spot why they are examples of gaslighting. Keep in mind that abusive behavior and gaslighting aren’t necessarily the same. continued
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