Gaslighting: How to Drive Someone Crazy
By: Christine Hammond
LMHC
A
man obsessed with stealing valuable jewels murders one woman and attempts to
drive the other one (his wife) crazy. His single-mindedness, driven by selfish
motives, caused him to deceive and manipulate in order to obtain what he wanted
regardless of the cost to others. Fortunately he is discovered just before he
tries to commit his wife to an insane asylum.
While
this is the dramatic plot of the 1944 movie Gaslight (starring Ingrid Bergman)
it could easily be applied to everyday. A person with narcissistic tendencies
takes advantage of others to get what they want, resorting to deceptive tactics
like twisting the truth. Any slight exposure of reality causes them to claim
that other’s perceptions are inaccurate and possibly crazy. They even go to the
extreme of hiding things and then saying the other person lost the items.
The
name of the movie has become a psychological term called gaslighting. It
describes the process of grooming someone into believing they are losing it.
Here is how it works:
1. Find a target. In the movie, a woman who recently experienced
the traumatic murder of her aunt was targeted by the man who was after her inherited
valuable jewels. Unfortunately, traumatized victims tend to look a bit foggy,
seem confused, distracted, withdrawn, and discouraged. A person meaning harm
looks for such a person because they are less likely to be present and aware of
any potential schemes.
2. Charm the target. At first, the gaslighter will seem to be the
perfect person. They will be attentive, caring, and constantly present. While
this is comforting to the target, it is actually a method of studying their
victim. The more they learn, the greater the ability to successfully twist the
truth. In this case, charm is very deceitful.
3. Push the boundaries. Early on in a relationship, it is normal to
establish a boundary such as needing some time alone or with friends. A person,
who truly cares for another, respects this limitation. But a person with
ulterior motives will show up unexpectedly with some excuse of “missing them”
or “needing to see them”. This is actually a test to see how the target
responds. Any tolerance of boundary stretching is a signal that a person is
insecure and can be manipulated.
4. Gives surprise gifts. A common tactic is to give a gift for no reason
and then randomly take it away. The gift is usually something that is highly
valued. Once appreciation is shown, then it is removed as a precursor to a
push-pull abuse tactic. The idea is that the gaslighter is in complete control
of their victim: giving pleasure and then taking it away. This creates a
strange fear that things will be taken away if the target does not do exactly
what is demanded.
5. Isolates from others. In order to be effective, the gaslighter needs
to be the only dominate voice in the victim’s head. So all friends, family, and
even neighbors are systematically removed from the target’s life. There are
excuses for this distance such as “your mother is crazy”, “your best friend
said you are a gossip” and “no one cares for you as much as I do”. This reinforces the dependency on the
gaslighter to meet all of the needs of their victim.
6. Makes subtle statements. Once the stage is set, the actual work
of manipulation begins. It starts with hints of “you are forgetful” or “you are
angry”. The victim might not actually be forgetful but a little suggestion
followed by the random disappearance of items such as keys easily reinforces
the concept. The target might not feel anger and in an attempt to defend, says
“no I’m not”. To which the gaslighter responds, “I can hear it the tone of your
voice and your body language, I know you better than you know yourself.” Even
if a person wasn’t feeling anger before, they will be now.
7. Projects suspicions onto victim. The gaslighter is
naturally a suspicious person who takes their own fears and states that it is
the target who is actually the paranoid person. This projection can become a
self-fulfilling prophecy as the victim (who has become dependent on their
abuser) believes what is being said. Without anyone else to counteract with the
truth, the twisted perception becomes a reality.
8. Plants seeds of imagination. This is step is begins
by suggesting that a person is imagining things that aren’t real. It is
reinforced through intentional removal of “lost” items, claiming they hear random
noises, and generating unnecessary emergencies. Everything is done to cause the
victim to become even more dependent on the gaslighter’s perception.
Frequently, this step is done in conjunction with a repetition of the other
previous six steps.
9. Attack and retreat. The push-pull abuse tactic comes into full view
as the gaslighter attacks the victim through random anger outbursts which are designed
to startle a person into further submission. Then they follow it by making a
joke of the incident claiming that the target’s reaction is an overreaction.
The victim feels ridiculous and subsequently trusts their instincts even less.
A successful completion of this phase gives the gaslighter complete control to
now convince their victim that they are going crazy.
10. Takes advantage of victim. This last step is where
the gaslighter has obtained enough influence and domination that they are able
to literally do whatever they want to the target. Usually there are no limits
or boundaries any more and the victim is unfortunately completely submissive.
For a previously traumatized person, this last phase is even more painful as
trauma is built on top of even more trauma. The gaslighter, who has no empathy
for their victim, can only see that the end justifies the means of getting what
they want.
In
the movie, it took the observation of an outsider to help the wife escape from
the clutches of her gaslighting husband. In real life, it also takes such a
person to shed light onto an abusive situation. This could be a family member, friend,
neighbor, or counselor. Being such a person requires observation, courage, and
careful timing. But to a victim it is a life-saver.
To schedule an
appointment with Christine Hammond,
Please call our office
at 407-647-7005.
