This world is full of all different kinds of people, some of those people are good and want to help others but not all of them are. There are some people who wish to do harm to us and those people will stop at nothing to get inside of our heads.
In this day and age, we all need to be aware now more than ever of narcissists, controlling people, and overall toxic individuals. Sure, they may portray themselves as kind and caring at first but once you allow them close enough their masks come off and their true colors come out. These kinds of people have a lot of different ways of getting what they want and some of those are through blame-shifting, gaslighting, and well overall manipulation.
While I do believe gaslighting is a bit worse than shifting blame, it’s important to be aware of both of them. When someone is gaslighting you they are going out of their way to make you question your reality as a whole. Basically through lying and exploiting your fears or insecurities someone who is gaslighting you will make you feel as if you have no one but them to turn to.
Psychology Today wrote as follows breaking down what gaslighting is:
Gaslighting is an insidious form of manipulation and psychological control. Victims of gaslighting are deliberately and systematically fed false information that leads them to question what they know to be true, often about themselves. They may end up doubting their memory, their perception, and even their sanity. Over time, a gaslighter’s manipulations can grow more complex and potent, making it increasingly difficult for the victim to see the truth.
I know, that might sound a bit out there and you may think you could never find yourself in that position but it’s a lot more common than you’d assume. This kind of thing can happen to anyone. We often don’t realize it’s happening until the person doing it to us is far too close for comfort.
Now, shifting blame is a bit different but is still in my eyes very much a form of gaslighting. When someone is shifting blame they are either making you feel like you’ve done something wrong for calling them out or placing blame for something they’ve done onto someone else. This kind of thing can happen in a lot of different ways and well, it’s not excusable.
You would honestly be surprised at the lengths toxic people will go to get control of others, it is sickening. These kinds of people do the things that they do because they don’t care whether or not they’re hurting someone and that in itself is hard to grasp for those of us who actually care about others. If you find yourself in the control of someone who does these things to you, don’t waste time sticking around. The sooner you get out the better.
You can only find a sense of normal once you’re no longer under their control or manipulation. While finding yourself again won’t be easy, it will be worth it and you can do it. To learn more about this topic take a look at the video below. I know it might sound a bit out there but this is something a lot of people face on a daily basis.