They will gaslight This tactic, also known as “crazymaking,” is instinctively used by psychopaths and narcissists to control and manipulate others. Gaslighting leaves people feeling worn down, confused, ganged up on and defenseless; an unstable person is easier to control.
Gaslighting is the use of a patterned, repetitive set of manipulation tactics that makes someone question reality. It's often used by people with narcissistic personality disorder, abusive individuals, cult leaders, criminals, and dictators.
One of the defining features of psychopathy is the tendency to con others through lying, manipulation, and a glib form of charm. If you've been taken in by a person high in psychopathy, you can be left feeling hurt, deceived, and used. You might also feel a bit foolish.
To put the matter simplistically, psychopaths are born, and sociopaths are made. Both psychopathy and sociopathy, and APD generally, share features with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), the condition exhibited by persons commonly called narcissists.
In addition, perpetrators of gaslighting typically suffer from mental health issues as well. They may have developed these controlling behaviors as a response to childhood trauma, or as the result of Narcissistic Personality Disorder or another psychological condition.
They lack empathy for others, and their gaslighting can cause danger to their victims both mentally and emotionally. Commonly, a gaslighter has a condition known as a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). They have admiration for themselves over others and will do whatever it takes to put themselves in control.
The gaslighter enjoys emotionally, physically, and financially controlling their victims. The relationship may start well the manipulative person may praise his or her victim and establishes trust quickly by confiding in their victim immediately.
Psychopaths tend to be the most violent and dangerous because they lack empathy, conscience, and respect for authority. Sociopaths are similar but often use manipulation and deceit over violence. Narcissists can also be selfish and cruel but are less likely to engage in illegal or violent behaviors.
It is a subtype of antisocial personality, characterized by persistent, violent offending histories (often with a variety of offence types), lack of emotional warmth or any sense of empathy for others, and deceptive and predatory attitudes to others.
While popular accounts of attraction to psychopaths have focused on women, there was no evidence for a gender difference in attraction to psychopathic characteristics. Both males and females on average were about equally unimpressed with psychopathic characteristics in a potential romantic partner.
A personality structure often marked by a lack of empathy is psychopathic personality. Thus, clinical psychology is also concerned with the process of empathy and how this ability influences antisocial personality (including psychopathy) and behavior.
First, they assess the value of individuals to their needs, and identify their psychological strengths and weaknesses. Second, they manipulate the individuals (now potential victims) by feeding them carefully crafted messages, while constantly using feedback from them to build and maintain control.
You may be more vulnerable to gaslighting if you suffer from any mental health issues that weaken your resistance, such as a history of abuse or trauma, low self-esteem or depression, for example.
Certain personality types tend to be more manipulative than others. People with borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and sociopaths are more likely to gaslight those around them.
Psychopaths are considered to have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder.
ESTP – Reckless and impulsive with no regard for others, ESTPs are likely candidates to have psychopathic tendencies as well.
Dating a psychopath often involves being subjected to a lot of manipulation. They blatantly deny their own manipulative behavior and ignore evidence when confronted with it. They become dismissive and critical if you attempt to disprove their fabrications with facts.
Key traits
Some of the red flags that someone is a psychopath include a lack of empathy, a charming personality to fool others, disorganisation, a tendency to blame others, a lack of fear, and being cold-hearted. “Making a clinical diagnosis of psychopathy is rather hard, actually,” Erikson said.
There is no single known cause of psychopathy. Genetics, trauma, brain structure, exposure to violence during childhood, and environmental conditions are possible contributing factors. Research about effective treatments for psychopathy is ongoing.
A gaslight apology is an apology given that often appears sincere but the person is actually not taking any responsibility for what they have caused.
Red Flag 1: You're doubting your own truth. Red Flag 2: You're questioning yourself excessively. Red Flag 3: You're feeling confused. Red Flag 4: You're frequently thinking you must be perceiving things incorrectly.