You don’t know how to describe what you are feeling. It’s like you’ve become an entirely different person and you don’t know why and how it has happened.
You feel minimized, devalued, exhausted, devastated, crushed – completely let down. You are constantly overthinking and doubting yourself. You doubt your thoughts, feelings, memory, perception, and even your sanity. You think you are losing your mind.
This is called gaslighting. Gaslighting is a technique used by manipulators that slowly eats away at their victim’s self-esteem, the clarity of their mind, and their ability to make decisions for themselves. The gaslighter makes its victim feel ‘crazy,’ ‘overly sensitive,’ ‘mentally unstable,’ and ‘paranoid.’
Here are 11 red flags that your partner is gaslighting you and you need to get out of the relationship – FAST!
1. You feel like something is ‘off.’ Your gut feeling keeps telling you that something doesn’t feel right but you can’t figure out what.
2. You often feel disorientated and confused.
3. You often second-guess yourself and your memory, constantly wondering whether you are right or wrong which makes you feel like you are losing your mind.
4. You walk on eggshells around your partner and you feel threatened by them even though you can’t tell why.
5. You feel as if you are not good enough for them and you feel obligated to always overcompensate and live up to their high (often impossible) demands because you fear they will choose someone else over you.
6. You are constantly apologizing to them, even for the things you are not guilty of.
7. You feel misunderstood, hopeless, isolated, and depressed.
8. You don’t trust your judgment and believe only in the words of the abuser. They have the ultimate control over you. You can’t do anything without asking them first.
9. You feel guilty for betraying yourself and not feeling happy as you once used to feel.
10. You feel like you lost a part of yourself. That you were robbed of something irreplaceable. You feel like you are not as strong as you were before.
11. You have become scared of speaking up your mind and expressing your emotions.
The gaslighter does this to you by using various tactics of denial, discrediting you, changing the subject, wearing a mask of fake compassion and assertiveness, minimizing your feelings, and twisting the reality.
If you find yourself feeling this way, there is someone around you who is gaslighting and manipulating you. You are not crazy. Your instincts are real. You should walk away fast and never look back. The relationship you are in is toxic and it will slowly destroy you.
You must save yourself and heal. You must accept what has happened to you and know that it is not your fault. You will regain your confidence and you will be okay again.
