In recent years, we often come across expressions like ‘I was gaslighted’ or ‘I was gaslighted’ through articles. Learn the meaning and origin of the gaslighting effect, also called the gaslight effect, and explain the seriousness of gaslighting and how to overcome it without being gaslighted so as not to become a victim.
Gaslighting meaning and origin
Gaslighting is a kind of brainwashing that keeps the other person mentally abused, making them believe that their judgment is very low, making them completely dependent on themselves. It is closer to a popular buzzword than an academic term, and it is a word that has been used frequently in the mid-to-late 2010s when human rights awareness developed.
The origin of gaslighting began in 1938 in the play Gaslight (directed by Patrick Hamilton). In 1944, Ingrid Bergman was cast as the female lead and was made into a film. If you are interested in a short summary of the plot, please open below.
◇ Summary of theatrical gas lights
View more
gaslighting example
Mainly, they use the other person’s anxiety to continuously instill a negative perception that they will suffer losses through foolish and wrong judgments, thereby dramatically lowering their self-esteem. Since gaslighting is used to break the opponent’s autonomous will and rebellion, it turns out that spouses, children, students and soldiers are mainly victims.
In addition to being used for crimes such as fraud, in life, the perpetrator himself is often unaware of the fact that his act is gaslighting in the name of love. You need to do it.
▶ Bullying and school violence among students
In some cases, the perpetrators thoroughly isolate the victim and continue to instill the perception that they are an ‘ugly person’, thereby lowering their self-esteem. Even more frightening is the case of gaslighting while treating the victim well. is difficult In a similar way to gaslighting that parents do to their children, there are expressions such as “everything is telling you to be well” and “it’s all advice for you”.
▶ Military senior / successor, school and workplace senior / junior 가스라이팅 뜻
Gaslighting is also a form of physical and mental abuse that makes people conform to all kinds of absurdity in the organization for the sake of discipline. As the times change, such harsh acts within the organization are on the decline, but gaslighting is sometimes cast in a new form. For example, there are cases where an officer gaslights a soldier between an officer and a soldier who are not in a military successor relationship. 좋은뉴스
▶ Between husband and wife
In a relationship between the two of them, gaslighting also constitutes a separation between the two to guard against the approach of another third party. For no particular reason, the act of making it difficult to form normal social relationships by giving anxiety to the other person with stories such as “that person’s eyes are strange” or “I really don’t like you” is a typical example.
▶ Others
Multi-level marketing and pseudo-religion, which are pointed out as social harm, can be seen as representative examples of using gaslighting. Gaslighting was also the subject of an actress’s entertainment news that was a problem a few years ago. Lighting has become a big problem.
The seriousness of the gaslighting crime
Blackmail fraud using gaslighting is serious in that it is difficult to relieve the victim because it is quite difficult to prove the crime. On the surface, neither the investigative agency nor the court can provide relief because the act was done by the victim himself.
In a company, gaslighting can be seen as a vicious method of inducing unreasonable holiday work and night work by intentionally instructing and inducing unattainable work to an employee who did not complete it because the company suffered a loss. seems to do
As such, it can be considered that the harm of gaslighting is huge due to the difficulty of proving it and the act that the perpetrator does without knowing whether it is an offense or not.
how to overcome
▶ Self-esteem
People with high self-esteem have strong belief in themselves, so there is no room for other people’s techniques to work. It is important to believe that you are the only person who knows you best and can take care of you. This is why parents need to pay special attention to their child’s self-esteem when raising children.
▶ No blind trust
Do not unconditionally trust the words and actions of others, but take a step back and make an objective judgment. As gaslighting occurs even in close personal relationships such as between parents and children or between husband and wife, it is necessary to make decisions based on objective information rather than accepting unfounded comments in any close relationship.
▶ Physical Evasion
Physically avoiding the opponent is also a good idea. However, there is a disadvantage in that physical avoidance is difficult if the perpetrator is a person who has to face face to face and is at the top of the hierarchy, such as a job appointment.
Other than that, it is important to think logically, to act courageously, and to listen to third parties.
in writing
In addition to the fear of gaslighting that leads to crime, in real life, gaslighting, which is spread unnoticed by both the perpetrator and the victim, is also very serious. In childhood, in the relationships with parents and teachers, the friends you meet at school, and the relationships you face in your social life (including the military for men), whether you have ever been a victim, sometimes in the name of advice and love, You need to think about whether you are the perpetrator of gaslighting that lowers your self-esteem. At the very least, I believe that training to increase self-esteem is absolutely necessary in order not to remain a victim of gaslighting.