by Katherine Lapic
In the society that we live in today, new slang and terms come up almost daily. It's easy to get lost in such a fast-paced world, especially when not everyone is truthful to others. The term gaslighting has become a common term, and as lying turns into a fun game, the hierarchies of society grow delusional and become seemingly harder to climb.
To refresh the terminology, when someone says gaslighting they are referring to a specific type of manipulation that makes the gaslighted question reality, memory, or perceptions. But are we sure gaslighting is even real? Is reality, memory, or perception really real?
The brain is fully capable of gaslighting yourself, and it's easy to get lost up there, especially if you don’t necessarily trust the information you’re given. The brain tricks you into thinking that some statements are false, when in reality, behind every lie is a truth. Perception of reality is not a real thing, however, when someone is under the false impression that it is, they can turn even more insane and push it out on others, thus gaslighting. Living in delusion only feeds into the idea that gaslighting is real.
Normally, gaslighting tactics involve suggesting that the gaslighted person is mentally unwell, which spirals them into a deep hole of confusion and a loss of touch with reality. Deep spirals consist of overwhelming negative thoughts and emotions which turn over the idea that reality is real, and in such a spiraling state one would be correct on the matter. Gaslighting isn’t real, so the gaslighted was most likely already mentally unwell and just going insane by themselves.
According to Robin Stern, PhD, co-founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, "Gaslighting is often used in an accusatory way when somebody may just be insistent on something, or somebody may be trying to influence you. That’s not what gaslighting is." Terms like gaslighting, manipulated, and psychopath are lightly tossed around when in actuality they are not as big and bad as they seem. People tend to over-exaggerate situations to get a rise out of telling the story. Using extreme words like those puts an image into the mind that feeds the delusion that insane ideas are real.
Using this mindset that nothing is real is the best way to prepare you for the real world, and I hope to see my classmates prosper from such influence.
Disclaimer: This is satire.