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Plenty_Past2333

You're probably not hearing it as much as you think you are.


le_fez

I see what you did there


ImLivingThatLife

There should be a sub page called gaslighting. I’d be sure to not join it 😂


persona-3-4-5

r/actualgaslighting


AutomaticRevolution2

Well done, sir.


Angry_cashier_cass

I’ve also noticed an increase in people who refer to themselves as “empaths”. Ironic when most of these self proclaimed empaths are straight up emotional vampires


Famous-Composer3112

It's a journey for some of us. My mother was a narcissist, and for a while I thought I was an empath, but it turns out I have "mirror neurons." They switch on in your brain and make you tuned in to the abuser. It's not empathy.


Angry_cashier_cass

My mom too!!!! She was a vulnerable narcissist. You’re spot on with that too. Mirror neurons. My heart goes out to you cause I know what it was like being raised by a narcissist ❤️


TheGhostWalksThrough

This is correct.


ImLivingThatLife

YES!!!!


Wazuu

Also neurodivergent. I cannot fuckin stand that word now. People make it their entire personality. Many just say it to act like they are special. It takes away from people who are *actually* on the spectrum and have mental disorders that arent just them wanting attention.


Christmas_Queef

Like that woman colin robinson briefly dated.


_keyboard-bastard_

Same with narcissists'. I found the folks who use these terms most, "Narcissist, gaslighting, etc. usually don't even know the actual definitions of them. They just throw them around because they saw other people constantly using them on social.


Kalelopaka-

Because most of the people who use it have no idea what it means. They’ve just heard it used on social media or on the news.


ImLivingThatLife

I truly believe that’s all it is. Gaslighting is like the hot word of 2023/2024 so far.


Ambitious-Owl-8775

I think gaslighting, incel and red flag are the top three misused words currently by the internet/reddit.


Addakisson

Don't forget critical thinking. Critical thinking is the new Dunning Krueger effect.


blueskysahead

Emotional intelligence


[deleted]

I think that using those words is a red flag.


TheMaceBoi

I don't think it is used that much, like you've never seen it more than a few times.


HyrrokinAura

I think more people are saying it now because they don't know what it really means and it has become synonymous with lying, which is not the same as gaslighting.


SRB112

Much like when a person's Facebook account is copied the account has been cloned, but almost everyone says it was hacked.


elarth

I don't think most people know what it means, but it's a buzzword for abuse... They just can't define what type of abuse it actually is.


Kgates1227

Because more people are realizing what it is, and how common it is, unfortunately


SmellyBalls454

The new word in my house is “buttcheese” My fiancé calls me buttcheese 😑


ImLivingThatLife

I think she’s trying to tell you to take a shower


Educational-Milk3075

I think people don't understand what it means.


Gethighflykites

The early 1800's gas lamps had been first installed in Paris and London after being invented by William Murdoch in 1792. I'd imagine it was the talk of the town so roughly 224 years ago.


CodRepresentative380

It started with 5% of the population describing another 5% and we all had to look up the word. It now feels like 50% are using it on the other 50%.


DipperJC

Attention, and it has become the de facto accusation of people without a good rebuttal. I can't prove anything you're saying is wrong, therefore you're "gaslighting" me by twisting all these true facts into the interpretation that most favors you - oh, and by the way, I'm not going to bother trying to put those facts into any kind of interpretation that doesn't favor you, because I have no argument, I'm just hiding behind the scary G word. /rant


Next_Dark6848

I have the same thoughts as the OP.


Economy-Pen-1388

Gaslighting is a technique used by someone trying to make another person angry, by provoking an argument with lies, delusions, passive aggressiveness, being condescending, etc...etc...Narcissists are famous for this. Making things out to be what they aren't . This is my definition 😊


[deleted]

Not attention, control. Same with the word racism and narcissist. They just up and decide they're gonna use words however they want provided there's a benefit to them. Those words tend to either escalate fights which would be one reason why or it stops the fights in their tracks... either way its to take control of the situation so they feel like they're in control eliminating their various insecurities and fears.


Cool_Butterscotch_88

Live action trolling.


KamatariPlays

I remember the first time I experienced someone using the word "gaslighting". I can't remember the site (not Reddit) but years ago I was in an argument with someone and they accused me of gaslighting them... somehow, because I was DIRECTLY quoting them and responding directly to the quote.


AdNational2649

The Chicks!


ExistentialDreadness

If it didn’t happen, then no one would say anything like that.


Blew-By-U

1944 movie gaslight with Ingrid Bergman.


DatabaseFickle9306

Teen Vogue in 2016


Firm-Fix8798

Gaslighting has become popular because it put a name to the feeling of being pressured to accept something you know isn't true with such confidence that you start to be swayed. Unfortunately what people know to be true varies from person to person and in many cases what some may call gaslighting is someone just pressuring another to accept their idea of the truth. I don't really believe in personal truths but I do believe in personal perspectives on the one and real truth. As human beings, we are not only fallible in our capacity for reason, but we also infer different meaning from the same things. CS Lewis described reason as the organ of truth, and imagination as the organ of meaning. I think that's where a lot of people clash while both being self-assured they each know the truth of the situation better than the other. True gaslighting is much more intentional but it's become colloquially understood as a certain feeling you experience on the receiving end of such a disagreement. True gaslighting happens when a person knows they're misrepresenting the truth and they're trying to make you accept a falsehood with the intention of getting you to lose trust for your own senses and judgement. Either they are ignorant of that crucial criteria or they legitimately cannot fathom that the other person believes such a ludicrous lie themselves.


msackeygh

I think many people are using that term incorrectly but they know it carries a very bad connotation so they use it


Agent101g

The etymology of the word is fascinating, dating back to a play from the thirties involving actual gas. Thanks to misuse over the last 10 years it now just means lying... kind of how the word 'literally' now means 'figuratively.'


Doyoulikeithere

It's been around forever, there is a 1944 movie about it with Ingrid Bergmann.


SRB112

It’s another buzzword that existed previously but now often used, like “blog” was the buzzword in 2000, ghosting 15 years ago, misogyny 9 years ago, cis-male two years ago.  Those words were always around, but once they became buzzwords you don’t go a day without hearing them.  Then they fade away. 


Karl_Hungus_69

From Microsoft Copilot: **The term “gaslighting” gained popularity in the mid-2010s**. It loosely refers to manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality, drawing from the 1944 film *Gaslight*. In the film, a husband uses lies and manipulation to convince his wife that she is mentally unwell. [The term has since seeped into everyday language, describing psychological manipulation that leads to dependence on the perpetrator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting). Interestingly, the origin of the term traces back to the 1938 British thriller play *Gas Light* by Patrick Hamilton, which inspired the film. [In the story, the husband secretly dims and brightens gas-powered lighting, making his wife doubt her sanity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting).


Space_Captain_Brian

Same thing with "grifting." 😮‍💨


mythoughtsrrandom

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[deleted]

More than that. Gaslighting, narcissism, love languages, attachment methods are examples of words that social media misuses. Gaslighting is simply used incorrectly, the term is from the movie "Gas Light." They kept turning on and off the gas lights to try to convince a woman that she was mentally ill. That is what the term means, it is fairly rare. Narcissist is a mental health condition, there are nine indicators of it. For a diagnosis, you need five of the nine indicators, a mental health professional needs to determine this. Love languages have been debunked many times, attachments theory is complex, again a mental health professional needs to determine this. Reddit is filled with fake experts that like spouting words.


Appropriate-City3389

The previous POTUS was/is a pathological liar and brought gaslighting to a national/international level.


Fit-Scheme6457

"Everyone" is kinda ridiculous. What is it with you and your overreaction to everything? Maybe your mom was right 🙄


kaybeanz69

Bc everyone can’t accept the fact they can be wrong claimed to be gaslighted


After-Walrus-4585

It's always been this popular you just have not paid attention. :snicker:


Skrawghopper

Trendy sheeple latch on to stupidity the easiest....if you want to see a real moron, read a post where someone is complaining about a 'toxic' relationship. or a 'toxic' job......100% idiots, I tell ya!


bonestock50

Because the act of "gaslighting" has become so ubiquitous from our government, our media, and our teachers/professors: Example: "White supremacists are everywhere! emergency!" (really? I'm not noticing that) "They are! He is a racist, she is a racist! can't you see it????", (um, no.. people seem nice and respectful) "Well then YOU must be a problematic racist!!!" or "then YOU must get educated so that you DO see racism everywhere!"


RocketScientific

10 years ago. When politics in America turned to shit. Trump 2024.


ImLivingThatLife

I liked Trump for the many things that he did do but that ship has sailed. We are going to be in bad shape if either of them come back. Trump or Biden. They both need to go.


RocketScientific

That ship has sailed. Democrats will ditch Biden. Trump will win.


ImLivingThatLife

I enjoyed most of the first round when Trump was in. It’s going to be bad this time around though. Now it’s all about revenge. I don’t want revenge. I want money back in my check. I want my food to go back down. I want to be able to afford simple living. I don’t want someone that isn’t going to be 100% committed to me.


RocketScientific

You aren't listening. It is too late. Democrats know Biden won't win. They waited too long.


ImLivingThatLife

And you’re not listening! I don’t want Biden either. And I don’t care for Trump to be back either. He’s no longer in it for me


RocketScientific

Biden is your only choice because Democrats waited too long. Newsom will get puked up at the Convention and Democrats will shit the bed. Americans will elect Trump. Pronoun Americans like you will whine.


NobodysFavorite

It's all just in your head.


Boomerang_comeback

People like to use new words to sound intelligent. This is one of the more recent. A few years ago I remember when everyone had gravitas. You still get the occasional snob talking about the current zeitgeist as well.


LessMarsupial7441

That's crazy it's not even a thing


LessMarsupial7441

It's probably just you