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We talk a lot about gaslighting, a form of emotional abuse. It’s important to note that gaslighting may not happen right away. Gaslighting is when your emotions, words, and experiences are twisted and used against you, causing you to question your reality.
After experiencing these abusive patterns, you can find yourself feeling more confused, anxious, isolated, and could lose all sense of what is actually happening.
So how can you combat gaslighting in your relationship?
So how can you combat gaslighting in your relationship?
Proof:Since gaslighting can make it difficult to feel like you truly remember what happened, it can be helpful to keep proof of the incident(s) so you can rely more on the evidence. Here are some examples of what proof you can document:
Keep a journal — Every time you encounter something, write it down in a secret journal your partner doesn’t know about. Write down the date, time, and what happened.
Email — Send your experience, voice memos, pictures, or videos to a trusted friend for safekeeping.
Email — Send your experience, voice memos, pictures, or videos to a trusted friend for safekeeping.
Safety planning:A safety plan is a personalized plan that includes ways to remain safe while in a relationship, planning to leave, or after you leave. It involves how to cope with emotions, tell friends and family about the abuse, take legal action, and more.
Self-care:Combating gaslighting also involves self-care. Whether you’re still in the abusive relationship or after you’ve left, healing your mind is an important step. To put it simply, self-care is really about taking care of yourself in ways that feel best to you.
Self-care may mean taking a moment to think about happened to you, which can look like working to not accept responsibility for your abusive partner's behaviors. You can practice recognizing when your partner is trying to manipulate by blame-shifting & putting the problem on you.
In order to overcome this type of abuse, it is important to recognize the signs, and trust yourself again. If this situation sounds familiar to you, or you are questioning what’s happening in your relationship, reach out to an advocate.
We are here to support you 24/7/365. Reach out by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 TTY, or chat online at http://thehotline.org .
Remember— you are not alone!
Remember— you are not alone!
