Key Takeaways
- Gaslighting is a type of emotional abuse that causes the victim to question their feelings, thoughts, and reality.
- Signs of gaslighting include doubting your own feelings, questioning your judgment, and feeling nervous around the person gaslighting you.
- If you recognize signs of gaslighting, reach out to someone you trust or seek help from a therapist for support.
The Gaslighting Quiz
Gaslighting is a type of emotional abuse that can cause serious harm to your mental health. This quiz can help you determine whether gaslighting is happening in your relationship or friendship.
Who Is This Gaslighting Test For?
This test is for anyone who feels like someone in their life is gaslighting them. If you’re questioning the dynamic in a romantic relationship, friendship, or a relationship with a family member, this test can help you better understand your feelings about how you’re being treated.
Gaslighting is not an official diagnosis, but this test can help you decide if you want to take other steps, such as talking to a therapist about the relationship or reducing the amount of contact you have with the person.
People who are gaslighted often question their memory, are afraid of messing up, and feel on edge around the person who gaslights them.
About This Gaslighting Test
This short, free 15-question test measures the signs and feelings associated with gaslighting, such as questioning your own thoughts and perception of reality, being confused, and losing confidence and self-esteem. Each response corresponds to how often signs of gaslighting are present—rarely or never, sometimes, or frequently.
What to Know About Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a type of emotional abuse where an abuser or bully causes the person on the receiving end to question their feelings, judgment, and reality. It usually happens in romantic or family relationships but also in friendships, at work, or in a medical setting.
The abuse usually takes place over a period of time and makes the person being gaslighted feel as if they can’t trust their judgment, which can even lead to them questioning their sanity.
Signs of Gaslighting
Gaslighting often happens slowly over time, so if you don’t know the signs, you may not realize it’s happening. Questioning your own thoughts, memory, feelings, and even sanity can cause mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide.
Here are some gaslighting signs to watch for:
- Doubting your own feelings or the reality of the situation
- Questioning your judgment to the point that you’re afraid to share your opinion
- Feeling nervous and insecure around the person who is gaslighting you
- Believing that everyone thinks you’re crazy, strange, or thinks of you in the way the person who is gaslighting you says they do
- Wondering if everything the gaslighting person says is true and correct, even though you’ve questioned it before
- Feeling upset with yourself over changes to your behavior, like not being as strong as you used to be
- Worrying that you’re too sensitive
- Second-guessing your memory of events
- Feeling like you’re not good enough or can’t meet someone’s expectations
- Apologizing often for being yourself
Abusers who use gaslighting techniques do so with the goal of having power and control over someone else by manipulating their thoughts and feelings. They often have personality disorders such as antisocial personality disorder or narcissistic personality disorder.
If someone is gaslighting you, know it’s not your fault, and there are things you can do to protect your mental health. You can put some physical distance between you and the person doing the gaslighting, keep a written record (either with notes or saved conversations) of interactions you’ve had with the person, set boundaries, ask someone you trust for their perspective, or you can end the relationship completely.
Gaslighting can cause serious harm to your mental health. If you recognize signs of gaslighting, reach out to someone you trust for support or consider seeking help from a therapist. Having another opinion can help you sort out and validate your feelings. A therapist can also give you tools for managing anxiety and depression as well as setting boundaries to protect your emotional health.
You can also contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential assistance from trained advocates.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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