Andries Ferreira from Mad Rage Against Child Abuse brought this to the attention of the Addie and gave some insight on the matter.
Gaslighting is a form of brainwashing psychological abuse in which false information is presented to the victim, making them doubt their own memory and perception and attempting to make them believe they are ‘crazy’.
This is most often done through the denial of facts, events or what one did or did not say.
It is an increasing frequency of systematically withholding factual information from, and providing false information to, the victim.
This has the gradual effect of making them anxious, confused and less able to trust their own memory and perception.
Gaslighting is an insidious form of emotional abuse and manipulation that is difficult to recognise and even harder to break free from.
The manipulative abuser causes the victim to lose faith in their ability to manage and to cope with the world and its demands.
They no longer trust their senses, skills, strengths, friends, family or the predictability of their environment.
By constantly distorting the truth (pathological lying) they blur the line between reality and nightmare.
Source: mraca.weebly.com