“I smile because I have survived everything the world has thrown at me. I smile because when I was knocked down, I got back up.” ~Unknown
Had you asked me only two years ago I wouldn’t have even been able to tell you what gaslighting was, nor that I had been a victim.
That’s the thing about gaslighting, it can sneak into your life unknowingly, and before you know it, it can lead you to breaking point where you are doubting your sanity and your life is spiralling out of control.
Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse, where an uneven power dynamic is created by an abuser, leading their victim to doubt their reality.
Gaslighting is insidious in that it can begin subtly, then, as the victim’s confidence is chipped away, can lead to further forms of abuse, where the victim is coerced into submission of the wants of the abuser.
I was in my twenties when I met Chris* (*name changed). He was charming, he complemented me, he made me laugh, and the chemistry between us made us virtually inseparable. I was in love, my life was perfect, and there was nothing that could bring me down from the loving high I felt.
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Labels:
gaslighting, manipulation, abuse, boundaries, self-love, self-compassion,
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