 Hey Psych2goers, welcome back to another video. Have you ever heard of the term gaslighting, or have you been gaslighted by someone? Simply put, gaslighting is a simple and often overlooked kind of psychological abuse. It's a form of emotional manipulation meant to deceive you and make you doubt your own sanity and perception of reality. And because of its insidious nature, unfortunately, gaslighting can be difficult to spot, especially up close. But you can better protect yourself against gaslighting by learning how it works and becoming familiar with how gaslighters operate. With that said, here are seven common phrases gaslighters often use to manipulate others. Number one, I have no idea what you're talking about. Have you ever confronted someone about something and they say, What? What are you talking about? You're speechless, taken aback. You start to explain yourself, but they deny, knowing anything so unrelentingly, that you feel like you should just shake your head and brush it off instead. Oh, sorry, I must have just gotten confused. You'll say, with a hesitant smile, and just like that, they've planted the seed of self-doubt. They'll make it easier and easier for them to gaslight you. Each time they do. By simply denying what they've done and acting so sure of themselves that they've convinced you to. Number two, you're overreacting or you're being too sensitive or emotional. Has anyone ever told you that maybe you're just overreacting and not thinking clearly when you were upset with them or that you need to lighten up or stop being so sensitive when you call them out for something they said or did to hurt you? Don't let those people get to you. Invalidating someone's feelings by treating them as if they're in the wrong is a manipulation tactic gaslighters often use to pin the blame on you instead of themselves. Number three, you're imagining things or that's not what happened at all. What makes gaslighting so dangerous and psychologically damaging is the fact that it can make us doubt our own memories and experiences, sometimes to the point where we don't know what to believe anymore. And it all starts with this deceptively simple phrase. You don't know what you're talking about. Let me tell you what really happened. People who talk down to you like this are most likely trying to gaslight you. So be careful and always remember, there's a difference between letting someone tell you their side of the story and letting them feed you lies. Number four, you're not making any sense. Whenever you argue with a gaslighter it's hard to come out on top because they're always going to try and turn the tables on you. You know you sound crazy, right? Can you even hear yourself? That's a common form of manipulation. Tearing someone down so they can be vulnerable enough to believe them and buy into their nonsense. Gaslighters are experts at making you feel paranoid and crazy, especially when they know that you're in the right and have no other way to gain the upper hand in an argument. Number five, stop exaggerating the situation. Are you starting to notice a pattern in the phrases gaslighters often use to try and manipulate you? They usually start with a word, you, as in you're the one who's always in the wrong, you're the one who's mistaken, and you're the one causing the problem. Not them, never them. Why? Because gaslighters will do everything they can to convince you that you're wrong. And they'll often do this by tricking you into thinking that you're imagining all these problems. Just being paranoid. And that your concerns are all exaggerated or unfounded. Number six, if anything, I'm the one who should be mad at you. Remember how we said gaslighters love to flip the situation onto you? Well, this is a simple example of that. They'll often act as if by calling them out and making them take responsibility for their actions, you're the one hurting them. Why are you mad? They might ask. They may say things like, I'm the one being wrongfully accused, even though I did nothing wrong, I'm the victim here, not you. See what we mean? They're deflecting responsibility by manipulating your perception of the situation and rewriting the narrative. And number seven, don't listen to anything they tell you. You can't trust anyone but me. Yikes. Out of all the words and phrases gaslighters tend to use when manipulating us, this might be the worst one of all. Why would you listen to them? Or you believe them over me? Are just a couple of phrases a gaslighter will use to try to alienate you from anyone who sees there's something wrong and wants to help you. They want you to think that there isn't anyone else that you can trust but them. One the awful truth is that they're the ones you should have never trusted in the first place. Have you heard any of these statements or been gaslit by someone? Although a lot of people are still unfortunately unaware of what gaslighting is or how dangerous it can be, it's important that we take the steps to educate ourselves enough to be able to recognize it. If you or anyone you know has experienced gaslighting for a long time, please do not hesitate to seek help from a licensed professional. Remember that this video is meant to be educational and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition or situation. Did you find this video insightful? Tell us in the comments below. Please like and share it with friends that might find value in this video as well. Make sure to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content. All the references used are added in the description below. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.