Gaslighting
A pattern in which someone systematically undermines your confidence in your own judgement, memory and experience.
How it shows up
»I never said that.« »You’re too sensitive.« »You made it all up.« A single sentence is nothing; a pattern that persists leads you to stop trusting yourself and start checking with them.
What we do with it in therapy
The first task is restoring trust in your own perception — often by starting to write things down. If there is violence in the relationship, this isn’t a matter for negotiation but for safety.
See also
Panic attack
A sudden wave of bodily distress that peaks within minutes and passes — although during it, it seems it won't.
Phases of therapy
The sequence the process usually follows: establishing safety, working through, integrating and ending.
Separation anxiety
Distress on being separated from someone close — developmentally expected in a child, a sign of insecure attachment in an adult.
