Table of contents:
- The dangers of gaslighting in a relationship
- 1. Reducing one's self-confidence
- 2. Influencing social life
- 3. Difficult to make decisions
- 4. The risk of experiencing anxiety disorders
- 5. Difficulty trusting other people
Gaslighting is a term used to describe a form of emotional abuse in a relationship. Harassment takes the form of forcing other people to question their thoughts, memories, and events around them.
Worse, people who experience gaslighting usually question their sanity.
Of course this poses a danger that silently destroys not only the relationship, it also drains the victim's emotions.
The dangers of gaslighting in a relationship
Over time, gaslighting can have a huge impact on a person and the relationship that is being lived.
Maybe at first you didn't realize this. However, when gaslighting is often done, it can make you lose confidence.
Of course this effect can be very dangerous, especially if the relationship is built on love and trust. Strong love for someone can convince a lie and manipulation.
Here are some of the dangers of gaslighting in a relationship that can affect a person's life.
1. Reducing one's self-confidence
One of the most powerful dangers of gaslighting in a relationship is reducing and destroying the confidence of the victim.
For example, your partner often verbally abuses you and evaluates you badly, even though the relationship is over. As a result, feelings of self-love are reduced due to believing in these repeated remarks.
For some perpetrators who often manipulate their partners, tend to say this sentence when they want to end their relationship, such as, "You will never get a better person than me."
The sentence seems to imply that you are not good enough, so when repeated it may make you doubt yourself.
2. Influencing social life
Not only dangerous for yourself, gaslighting in relationships can also have an impact on your social life.
As reported by the Good Therapy page, people who experience gaslighting are "forced" to break the ties of their friendship and family.
The perpetrators do this so that their partners cannot seek other help and feel unloved by anyone other than their partner.
In addition, keeping you away from friends and family also means that you don't realize that your partner is manipulating you.
That way, you will only depend on your partner and unconsciously isolate yourself from the outside world.
3. Difficult to make decisions
The danger of gaslighting that occurs in other relationships is that it makes it difficult for you to make decisions.
This effect is likely to continue even after you leave the unhealthy relationship.
The result of weak self-confidence and a lack of opinion from people who can be trusted, can actually affect the way you make decisions.
This may be because you still doubt your understanding of yourself and find it difficult to get what you think.
So, when faced with a decision, those of you who are accustomed to depending on your partner don't know what to do.
4. The risk of experiencing anxiety disorders
The impact of gaslighting in relationships can actually increase the risk of mental disorders that can interfere with your life, namely anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders can result from decreased self-esteem due to emotional abuse by your partner.
As reported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness website, low self-esteem can lead to anxiety disorders and depression.
This is because when this condition occurs, you tend to see yourself as a negative person.
As a result, your goodness and abilities become clouded by that view and see yourself as a failure.
Then, you become too anxious for fear of not being considered competent when doing something.
This excessive anxiety eventually builds up and leads to depression and anxiety disorders.
5. Difficulty trusting other people
Difficulty trusting other people is usually the danger of gaslighting in a relationship when the story is over.
You may have noticed that your partner is manipulating you to maintain the relationship. As a result, after being detached from the relationship toxic this, you may have a hard time trusting others.
This is perfectly normal given your increased alertness due to fear of being manipulated by others. In fact, in some cases, there are those who blame themselves for not being able to see the signs of their partner's gaslighting.
However, if this goes on for a long time, this trust issue will have an impact on future relationships.
In fact, not everyone will manipulate and control yourself to depend on them.
Gaslighting in relationships is a form of manipulation that is quite dangerous for mental health and its impact on those around you. So, when you experience signs of gaslighting, try to think again whether this relationship is worth maintaining or not.
