Gaslighting
- “when someone makes you doubt your own memory”
- “they keep saying it never happened and I start to believe them”
- “the word for being made to feel like you're going mad”
- “what does gaslighting actually mean”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Gaslighting | Lying |
|---|---|---|
| Aims at | Your trust in your own mind | Your belief about one thing |
| Needs a false statement | Not always | Yes |
| Timescale | Usually a pattern, over time | Can be a single act |
| Typical result | Self-doubt and confusion | A false belief |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Gaslighting rather than Lying are usually searching for phrases like “when someone makes you doubt your own memory”, “they keep saying it never happened and I start to believe them”, “the word for being made to feel like you're going mad”.
03 · The mix-up
Where the confusion comes from
The mix-up“Gaslighting is just another word for lying.”
What's true
Lying aims to make you believe a particular thing. Gaslighting aims at your trust in your own memory and perception. Kate Abramson, author of On Gaslighting, has pointed out that liars may or may not be gaslighting; an ordinary liar is just trying to get you to believe something.
04 · Read either one
Read either one in full
05 · Tell these apart too