Sunday 8 May 2016

GASLIGHTING”: ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS FORMS OF MENTAL MANIPULATION WE ALL DEAL WITH

The universe can be a funny place sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of research about a form of mental
abuse that a lot of us are not only susceptible to, but actually deal with every single day. It is one of those things
 that we don’t even realize is happening to us, we just see the results: self-doubt, diminished self-esteem,
 and reduced self-worth. The world has a way of beating even the best of us down from time to time
 but this specific form of manipulation is one that can be identified and removed from our day-to-day existence.
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PLANTED SEEDS OF DOUBT

Back in 1938, there was a play called “Gas Light” that was later adapted into a movie in 1944.
 In the story, a husband works diligently to convince his wife and their acquaintances that she is insane
 by making very small and subtle changes to their environment. When the wife would point out the
changes, the husband convinced her that she was wrong about the changes and that she was crazy. 
Slowly but surely, the wife starts to give in to the self-doubt created by those subtle changes, namely
a gas lamp that the husband keeps dimming, hence the term “gaslighting”.

OUR PERCEPTION IS OUR REALITY

In the play, the key was the husband’s ability to alter the wife’s perception of reality. She saw the lamp
 as being dimmer and the husband assures her that it is not. He made he doubt her perception, and
 therefore her reality. It is a form of mental abuse that people too often don’t even realize what
is happening to them. For the perpetrator, the ability to control the victim’s own perceptions of
 themselves
and the things around them allows them to control the victim themselves. In reality, it happens every
single day. It’s all around us. How many advertisements do you see that claim that using their product
 will somehow enhance your life? That’s a mild form of gaslighting. You are made to think that some
 aspect of you or your life is incomplete. You are made to DOUBT yourself. Further, you are made
to think that whatever product is being peddled is the solution to what is supposedly lacking in
your life.

GASLIGHTING IN OUR LIVES

The specific situation that inspired this article involved one of the most beautiful and amazing women
I have ever known dealing with a break up from a man that never deserved to be with her in the
first place. I explained to her that there are people in our lives who will try to break us down to be on their 
level .So, what is the answer to gaslighting?

MAINTAINING YOUR OWN REALITY THROUGH 

YOUR OWN PERCEPTIONS.

I’ll tell you now, the same thing I told her:
You see, my friend, there are people in this world who will look at a unicorn and think to themselves,
“woah, that is a unicorn, which is something I will never be.” They will try to convince you, the unicorn
, that you are just an average horse like them with a weird growth on your head that you should probably
 get checked out by some kind of medical professional that deals with head growths. They will try to 
steal your magic and make you as dull and ordinary as the plain, old horses that they are. Because 
they need you to  be a plain, old horse like they are, just to bring you down to their level…
The Secrets Behind The Science Of Persuasion
As we’ve established: you are not just a plain,old horse. You are not a fast race horse. You aren’t
even one f those fancy British horses that those chicks in those hot pant/knee-high boot getups 
use to jump over stuff…

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