Gaslighting & Crazy-Making

“Gaslighting is when the narcissist tells you who’s crazy. Sanity is when you figure it out by yourself.”

Gaslighting is the hallmark of unhealthy and toxic relationships. Gaslighting is intended to confuse the victim through lies and misrepresentations of reality. Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and is a common strategy used by narcissists and borderline personality disordered individuals. Gaslighting work by creating doubt and confusion which are the main side-effects of cognitive-dissonance.

In order to minimize the effects of gaslighting, one must minimize interactions with toxic people; and most importantly, one must learn how to think factually. When we seek facts to support someone’s claims, it is only then that we will know if that person is attempting to gaslight us. Factual-thinking is the only antidote that brings sanity to a toxic interaction. This is why the most important step in dealing with toxic people is to not deal with them at all. Because, as stated in Theory of Self-Relativity{

“You can’t argue logic with someone who wants to fit a narrative to a desired conclusion.”