Who'd of thought there's a name for it?

[aelfie]

So I was reading this month's edition of Oprah's magazine when I get to a article blurb that describes gaslighting, and how to deal with someone who is doing it to the reader.  According to wikipedia, "Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse. It uses persistent denials of fact which, as they build up over time, make the victim progressively anxious, confused, and unable to trust his or her own memory and perception." Which is a pretty good sumation of my last serious relationship.

Personally, I just call it abuse. It doesn't make it any nicer to deal with , but its interesting to know there's a specific name for it.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Not very long, yeah, but maybe it's the most helpful thing that could be written about such a situation. After all, what else is there to do? I'm glad you got to 3. I wonder how much the support from friends helped you keep your sanity and your boundaries so you COULD make that decision.