Who gaslights? Who gets gaslit?

Mainstream culture often depicts gaslighting in romantic relationships.

But gaslighting can occur between any two parties—between friends, employers and employees, within families, etc.

Moreover, even governments can gaslight citizens by pretending all is well during an evident crisis, simply denying the evidence presented to them.

Within the family, parents or elders may often gaslight children.

A child may often be accused of something without a chance to defend themselves.

Parents may also end up punishing the child for perceived flaws and then convince the child that they “deserved it”.

There must be a line between appropriate parental authority and abuse.

One way to prevent crossing this line is sharing interpretations.

It is important to give the child space to explain what they think happened, and apologise when the adult is wrong.

In addition, family therapy may be essential if these behaviours often occur in interactions.

Read our complete article "Why you should understand what gaslighting really is"