Gaslighting: When They Twist the Truth to Dim Your Light
Gaslighting: When They Twist the Truth to Dim Your Light
By Angel, Founder of AMC Rise and Thrive
Hello beautiful soul 💛
Let’s sit with something tender and real today.
There are wounds that leave bruises you can see. And then
there are wounds that leave you questioning your own mind.
Mental and emotional abuse — especially in the form of
gaslighting — is one of those invisible injuries. It doesn’t always come with
shouting. It doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle. Calculated.
Repeated so often that you start believing the distortion.
Family.
Friendships.
Work environments.
Romantic relationships.
Even spiritual communities.
If you’ve ever felt like you were losing your mind trying to
prove what happened…
If you’ve ever replayed conversations over and over because someone insisted it
didn’t happen the way you remember…
If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive,” “too emotional,” “dramatic,”
or “crazy” simply for expressing hurt…
You are not alone.
And more importantly — you are not the problem.
Let’s talk about it openly. Clearly. Without shame.
🔍 So What
Is Gaslighting?
Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse and psychological
manipulation where someone makes you doubt your own memory, perception, or
sanity.
It often begins subtly.
You hear:
- “I
never said that.”
- “You’re
imagining things.”
- “You
always overreact.”
- “You’re
too emotional.”
- “You’re
the problem, not me.”
Notice the pattern.
The responsibility is never theirs.
The confusion always lands on you.
Gaslighting works by planting seeds of doubt. At first, you
brush it off. Then you start second-guessing. Eventually, you begin questioning
your instincts, your emotions, and even your memory.
You find yourself apologizing for reacting to behavior that
hurt you.
You begin defending your reality.
And the most painful part? The person manipulating you often
appears calm and collected while you’re left feeling unstable. They present
themselves as reasonable. You appear emotional. And slowly, the narrative
flips.
This isn’t accidental miscommunication.
It is control through confusion.
And confusion is exhausting.
🎭
Gaslighting Is Often a Performance
Gaslighting is not random chaos. It’s strategic.
Those who gaslight often:
- Study
your insecurities.
- Identify
your soft spots.
- Use
your empathy against you.
- Mirror
your language to make themselves appear self-aware.
They may create drama, then accuse you of being dramatic.
They may disrespect you, then call you disrespectful when you respond.
They may provoke you, then point to your reaction as proof that you’re
unstable.
It’s emotional warfare disguised as misunderstanding.
And when you finally speak up?
They flip the script.
Suddenly they are the victim.
They are wounded by your “accusations.”
They are shocked you would even question them.
You end up comforting the person who hurt you.
Let me say something plainly:
It is not your fault.
Yes, we all must be accountable for our words and behavior.
Growth requires responsibility. But someone making you feel small, confused, or
ashamed for having emotions is not accountability — it’s manipulation.
No one has the right to disrespect you because they’re upset.
No one has the right to make you feel “less” to protect their
ego.
And if this resonates deeply, pause and breathe. Because your
nervous system may be remembering what your mind tried to minimize.
💔 My
Wake-Up Call
I’ll be honest.
There was a time I didn’t have language for this. I thought I
was just “too sensitive.” I believed maybe I did overreact. I wondered if I was
just difficult.
It took prayer. Reflection. Honest conversations with myself.
And a lot of inner healing to recognize what was actually happening.
I saw it in moments when I apologized for being hurt.
I saw it when my reaction was scrutinized but their behavior
was erased.
I saw it when I was told I was “too much” — but only when I
asked for respect.
And once your eyes open to it?
You can’t unsee it.
It becomes painfully clear.
What’s interesting is this: once you recognize gaslighting in
your own life, you start noticing it when it happens to people you love. And
something shifts inside you. There’s a protective instinct that rises. A fierce
clarity.
Because you know how disorienting it feels.
You know how it shrinks someone’s spirit.
And you refuse to watch it happen silently.
But here’s the deeper truth: that same protective energy you
feel for others — you are allowed to feel it for yourself.
You deserve defense.
You deserve advocacy.
You deserve protection.
Even from yourself when you’re tempted to minimize your own
pain.
🧘🏽♀️ You Are Not Crazy
Let’s say this clearly.
You are not overreacting.
You are not too emotional.
You are not hard to love.
You are not crazy.
You were manipulated.
Gaslighting creates internal chaos. It trains you to doubt
your intuition. It conditions you to seek permission before trusting your own
feelings.
But here’s what gaslighters fear most:
Awareness.
The moment you recognize the pattern, their control weakens.
Unhealed individuals often create toxic environments because
they refuse to confront their own shadows. Instead of facing themselves, they
distort you.
And when you begin setting boundaries?
They panic.
Because boundaries remove access.
People will continue behaviors that benefit them until those
behaviors cost them something. Boundaries are that cost.
This applies to women and men alike. Abuse does not
discriminate. Manipulators come in all forms. And many of us have experienced
it in some way.
The real question becomes:
What are you willing to continue tolerating?
You cannot control someone else’s behavior. But you can decide
what you allow into your space.
Reclaim your power.
You matter.
🌈
Reclaiming Your Voice
Healing from gaslighting requires rebuilding trust with
yourself.
That takes time.
You may need to:
- Journal
conversations immediately after they happen.
- Confide
in safe, grounded people who validate truth.
- Seek
therapy or spiritual counsel.
- Pray
for clarity and discernment.
- Limit
contact with those who repeatedly distort reality.
It also requires you to stop explaining yourself to those
committed to misunderstanding you.
Not everyone deserves access to your truth.
On a personal note when I am told these lies, I am petty and
will be like ok. You think I am like that, let me show you what I am capable
of.
Peace is not found in convincing someone who thrives on chaos.
It is found in alignment.
Alignment with your intuition.
Alignment with God.
Alignment with your inner knowing.
The more you return to yourself, the clearer everything
becomes.
You begin recognizing red flags faster.
You feel the difference between discomfort and manipulation.
You no longer confuse intensity for love.
You understand that love does not require you to shrink.
Love does not thrive in confusion.
Love does not weaponize your vulnerability.
You deserve clarity.
You deserve honesty.
You deserve peace.
And if walking away is what protects your sanity, then walking
away is strength — not failure.
🪞 Soulful
Affirmations
Speak these slowly. Let them land.
• I trust my perception, my memory, and my inner wisdom.
• I am not responsible for someone else’s refusal to be accountable.
• I release narratives that tried to distort my truth.
• I do not need to defend my reality to those committed to misunderstanding me.
• My intuition is a gift, and I honor it without apology.
Repeat them until your nervous system believes them.
📖 Bible
Verse of the Day
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)
Gaslighting thrives in confusion.
God operates in clarity.
If something consistently leaves you anxious, disoriented, and
doubting your sanity, that is not divine order. That is dysfunction.
God does not communicate through mental torment.
He brings conviction with peace.
Correction with love.
Truth with clarity.
Do not confuse chaos for destiny.
🎵 Song of
the Day
“Gaslight” by Snow Tha Product (Explicit) 🎶
This song is raw. Honest. Unfiltered. There is pain in it —
but also awakening.
It captures that moment when you realize you’ve been
manipulated. That internal shift when confusion turns into clarity.
One powerful line expresses the exhaustion of second-guessing
yourself and the refusal to keep excusing grown behavior. It reminds us of
something important:
We are not here to parent other adults.
Understanding someone’s trauma does not require tolerating
their toxicity.
Compassion and boundaries can exist at the same time.
As you listen, pay attention to how awareness feels in your
body. Sometimes music articulates what we struggled to name.
Awareness is power.
🧠 Soul
Prompt for Reflection
Take a quiet moment and ask yourself:
• When was the first time I felt deeply confused in a
relationship?
• What signs did I ignore because I wanted peace?
• What would I say to the version of myself who believed the distortion?
Be gentle with the answers.
Healing is not about blaming your past self.
It is about honoring how far you’ve come.
Final Thoughts
Gaslighting wants you disconnected from yourself.
But you are waking up.
You are remembering who you are.
You are recognizing manipulation for what it is.
And the version of you who once felt small? You growing
stronger. You are standing taller.
Clarity is returning.
Peace is becoming non-negotiable.
Trust that inner voice that says, “Something isn’t right.”
That voice is not drama. It is discernment.
Protect your peace.
Guard your mind.
Honor your truth.
With clarity and courage,
Angel
Founder of AMC Rise and Thrive
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Thank you for being here. Truly.
If this message resonated with you, consider sharing it — and
explore the archive for another reflection that may be waiting for you. Someone
in your life may need these words at the exact moment they encounter them.
Divine timing cannot be forced. We simply remain open,
trusting that what is meant for us — and through us — will arrive right on
time.
#GaslightingAwareness #EmotionalHealing #TrustYourTruth
#FaithAndClarity #AMCRiseAndThrive
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