To call it “gaslighting” is inadequate unless you understand all you would need to know in order to not have it go over your head or somebody else’s. Apparently, this oversimplification of how a seriously undesirable cultural phenomenon is perceived has caused enough confusion already and is not as benign as it sounds if all you use to identify it is a single word taken from the title of an old Hollywood movie.
An ongoing observation of mine since I was in my early 20s-...Some people “gaslight” themselves. They listen and hear something other than what is really being said and mistake the thoughts of the person they are conversing with for being less than well-meaning. I admit that it’s happened to me that way but only when I was really depressed and feeling down and out. I was ripe for the picking and I could have sworn that there were people were trying “gaslight” me but I didn’t know what to call it back then. Eventually, things got a whole lot better and once I had it figured out I could “gaslight” with the worst of them. However, I realized that my freedom of speech trumps any perceived notion of a right to not be confused by what other people say. I will not be held responsible for the wild assumptions made by people who might claim that gaslighting or attempted gaslighting was perpetrated against them.
Gaslighting is the perfect term.
Have you ever been gaslit by someone close to you?