Emotional Trauma Recovery: Understanding and Responding to Narcissistic Gaslighting

Narcissistic Gaslighting happens when a Narcissistic person twists the narrative of events that have occurred into a delusional, untrue version of the story. They do this in order to avoid being held accountable for their own behaviors, and to shift the blame onto you, make you look like the bad guy, or make you feel confused and crazy.

There are different types and severity levels of Narcissism. In general, Narcissism is a persistent and pervasive pattern of behavior that is harmful to relationships. They use many tactics to control, coerce, dominate, invalidate, and exploit others around them. Narcissists view themselves as superior to others, chronically victimized by others, and entitled to abusing others for their own gain. Narcissists often use emotional abuse tactics, like gaslighting, in order to gain "emotional supply," which is a thrilling feeling of being able to control others, manipulate them, and get whatever they want without being held accountable. A strong component of Narcissism is a profound lack of empathy for their victims.

Not everyone is a narcissist! There is a lot of overuse of the narcissist label/term on the internet. So I want to clarify that this video is meant specifically for survivors of narcissistic abuse and gaslighting.

Disclaimer: This video contains my personal views only, and is meant for educational purposes. This video is not clinical therapy. Please speak to your therapist about any concerns that come up while watching this video. Nothing in this video should be taken as a means to diagnose or label any individual with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Only a doctor or clinical therapist who works with an individual in a clinical setting can diagnose and treat any mental illness or personality disorders.

References:
Learn more about the diagnosis of NPD and prevalence rates at:
Dr. Ramani Youtube Channel
Dr. David Hawkins Youtube Channel
Psychiatry.org ; https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-b....

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