Emotional Well-being
Are You Being Gas-lighted?
Avoid falling for the narcissist’s signature tool
Paula: Gregory, are you trying to tell me I’m insane?
Gregory: It’s what I’m trying NOT to tell myself.
Paula: But that’s what you think, isn’t it? That’s what you’ve been hinting and suggesting for months now. That’s when it all began; The day I found that letter.
Gregory: What letter?
Paula: That one I found among the music from that man…
Gregory: Yes, you’re right. That’s when it began…I can see you still, standing there and saying, ‘Look. Look at this letter.’ And staring at nothing.
Paula: What?!
Gregory: You had NOTHING in your hand.
This dialogue is from the 1944 Ingrid Bergman film called Gaslight, in which a husband purposefully drives his wife insane by flickering lights, making noises in the attic, and then claiming the very real experience was all in her head.
That’s where the term gas-lighting first originated from.
Gas-lighting is a form of emotional abuse and manipulation. It occurs when a person doubts the reality of another person leaving them confused. As narcissist’s favorite trick…
