Gaslighting
Manipulation that makes someone question their own reality.
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Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person is made to doubt their own perception of reality. The term gained widespread popularity in the mid-2010s, though some mental health experts have cautioned that it is now often used too broadly, sometimes applied to ordinary disagreements rather than the specific pattern of abuse it originally described.
Quick Facts
- Film origin
- 1944 film Gaslight
- Play origin
- 1938 British play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Medical gaslighting is an informal term referring to patients having their real symptoms dismissed or downplayed by medical professionals, leading to incorrect or delayed diagnoses; women are more likely to be affected.
- In her 2024 book On Gaslighting, philosopher Kate Abramson offers the example of a boss who minimizes a complaint of harassment or discrimination by saying 'Don't be so sensitive. You're overreacting.
More in Psychotherapy
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Gaslighting (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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