New SUN Behavioral Kentucky Blog Post Outlines the Dangers of Gaslighting

Erlanger, Ky. — SUN Behavioral, a mental health services center located in Erlanger, Kentucky, has released a blog post that discusses the negative and dangerous effects of gaslighting in several interpersonal contexts such as work and family relationships. The post also shines a light on how individuals who are being gaslighted can seek help to either stop a gaslighter or survive the victimization.

Gaslighting is one of the tactics deployed by narcissists and manipulators to exert emotional control over someone, the post explains. Unlike other forms of abuse, it is not quantified in national statistics as it doesn’t veer into the realm of illegal behavior. It’s much more subtle, and it often gets swept under the rug as just being one of the instigator’s many character quirks. However, depending on the degree of manipulation, it can have far-reaching effects on the victim’s psyche, affecting their daily life and hindering their long-term emotional growth.

The goal of a gaslighter is to make a person doubt themselves by painting a picture that is contrary to the facts in a way that makes the gaslighter seem morally and ethically superior. A gaslighter aims to create an environment where the victim is dependent on them for advice and direction, giving the gaslighter the reins of the relationship and taking away the victim’s freedom and agency to assert themselves.

Research into gaslighting has revealed that it is a tool often used by people who have an inflated opinion of themselves, namely narcissists. Narcissists want to assert dominance over other people because they want to prop up their own delusional self-image at the expense of the mental health of those around them. Narcissists feed their victims lies, either intentionally or unintentionally, and end up making them feel lesser about themselves. With age, narcissists become better at manipulating their victims as they get more adept at using deceptive techniques to bolster their own inflated sense of self-worth.

According to the blog post, some techniques used by gaslighters include creating superficial evidence to convince their victim of a falsehood, denying that something was said or done, dismissing their victim’s opposing feelings as invalid or crazy, turning the blame on their victim, questioning the intelligence of their victim, isolating their victim from outsiders, and manipulating the victim’s physical surroundings to put doubt in their mind about the truth of something.

Those who are being gaslighted in abusive relationships report feeling insecure and stressed out. Gaslighters may even get defensive about their actions by claiming they do it out of love. The gaslighter may also accuse the victim of being paranoid, especially when they are being unfaithful. Gaslighting may also be used as a tool by family members to get the victim to obey. Parents might criticize children by playing victim to get them to toe the line and meet unrealistic expectations.

Work settings are also likely to be rife with manipulative behavior as the stakes are high for those that manage to come out on top. Excessively ambitious and unscrupulous peers and supervisors might try to gain dominance in the workplace by fabricating a narrative that makes the victim feel like they are incompetent.

The blog post from SUN Behavioral then lists a few of the tactics used by gaslighters to give victims a better chance to spot when they are being subjected to manipulative behavior. The blog post advises readers to watch out for times when someone is peddling blatant lies, is acting in a withholding manner, is in constant denial of their toxic behavior, is diverting blame, and is countering criticism by going on the offensive and accusing the victim instead.

SUN Behavioral is a 197-bed psychiatric hospital in Erlanger, Kentucky, 10 minutes south of Cincinnati. The facility provides a full continuum of specialized care, including inpatient and day hospital services, for children, adolescents, adults, and seniors suffering from mental health and substance use disorders. To learn more about the many mental health services SUN Behavioral provides, visit their website or call (859) 429-5188.