Like a number of trending terms today, “gaslighting” is being misused, overused, and inserted into conversations about practically every negative social encounter—like lying and guilt-tripping. But do we really know what it means? Can we recognize it, and more importantly, can we protect ourselves from its effects?
Several years ago, Maggie Castrey wrote, “Is Someone Gaslighting You?” for this website. In the post, she described the 1944 film, Gaslight, where the term originated. In the movie, Charles Boyer caused Ingrid Bergman to doubt her sanity by adjusting the gaslights in their home. When she notices the flickering, he denied what she saw and expressed concern for her mental health—all part of a plan to control her, so he could gain access to her family’s jewels.
Since then, gaslighting has become a recognized term in psychology, used to describe a specific form of emotional abuse and mental manipulation that disrupts your ability to trust others—and yourself. As psychologist Chivonna Childs, PhD, explains it for Cleveland Clinic.org, “Gaslighting is a form of emotional manipulation to make you feel as if your feelings aren’t valid, or that what you think is happening isn’t really happening. Over time, you start to question your self-worth, self-esteem, and mental capacity.” And gaslighting isn’t limited to romantic relationships or family and friends. It can also take place in the workplace and your doctor’s office, especially if you’re a woman.
Melissa Miller Young surveyed several examples of women’s health symptoms being dismissed in her blog post, “Yes, Medical Gaslighting Is Real.” While not a clinical term, medical gaslighting is increasingly common. Young tells of women suffering heart attacks—one sidelined as a panic attack overnight, only to undergo emergency surgery for eight cardiac stent implants the next day.
There is a lot of blame to go around. Women have been historically excluded from scientific studies, making gender-related symptomology a problem for doctors. Health insurance only allows doctors 18 minutes for an office visit, and bias still frames many women’s complaints as “all in her head,” leading some practitioners to dismiss or downplay symptoms or “gaslight” the patient into thinking they’re imagining all that pain or chronic health condition. In this case, Young advises women to take a friend to appointments to take notes, get a second or third opinion, and advocate for themselves. You are the expert about you, not someone who only spends 18 minutes in your presence.
Now, gaslighting has crept into our politics. Once again, women—and men—are made to feel like it’s all in their heads as officials tell us one thing while the images from 20 cell phones show us something entirely different. Because of its pervasive use in politics and widespread amplification through social media, Merriam-Webster named “gaslighting” the Word of the Year in 2022.
What it means is described in detail in The Green European Journal, “A War on Perception: Gaslighting in Politics,” by Francesca Barc who quotes Psycholoanalyst Dr. Robin Stern, who wrote the book on it, The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide, in 2023. “While interpersonal gaslighting distorts one individual’s sense of self and truth, political gaslighting seeks to distort or rewrite a population’s shared reality. It’s not just a tactic – it’s a strategy of control. The psychological mechanism is the same: deny, deflect, distort. But the reach is far broader, and the consequences more sweeping.”
Stern continues, “If political propaganda seeks to persuade the public, gaslighting seeks to disorient. When political leaders or institutions downplay atrocities, deny facts that have been clearly documented, or accuse dissidents of being ‘deranged’, they are not just engaging in propaganda; they are waging a war on perception,” and argues, “The goal is destabilization, not persuasion.”
Particularly concerned with its effect on women and more vulnerable populations, Stern explains, “While gaslighting can occur across all gender identities, it disproportionately affects women, but not because women are inherently more vulnerable. Women are historically socialized and taught to ‘be nice’ and to please, but because patriarchy has long sanctioned male authority and discredited female perception.” Dr. Stern’s analysis is also available on YouTube, titled, “Political Gaslighting: What Every Citizen Needs to Know,” given on Medium Day 2024.
So how do you keep from being victimized? According to GaslightingCheck.com, you can actually build immunity. Knowledge is power—and that is your first step to shrugging off the influence of those who try to control you. Gaslighting Check provides a tool you can use to analyze political rhetoric for manipulative tactics. They also recommend you fact check, listen to multiple sources of media, create a trusted community to discuss issues with and build a collective awareness, and record statements so you can spot contradictions over time. It’s up to us to take control, develop transparency and cultivate an environment where people feel safe to express themselves.
Gaslighting flourishes when there’s an imbalance of power. In relationships, it’s cited as abuse, and psychologists warn that the longer it goes on, the more harmful it becomes. The same can be said for political gaslighting on societies. When people can’t agree on what is true and what is fake—when you’re made to believe the victim is not the person who was killed but the person who pulled the trigger, and when you can’t believe your eyes and ears because of AI-generated content, that’s gaslighting.
It’s time to take control.
The Center for Racial and Disability Justice says, “The antidote lies in truth-telling, transparency, solidarity, and collective defense of our shared reality.” That is the power of community, of democracy, of supporting communities and knowing that together, we can do anything, even protect our freedoms and our continued march to equality.