‘Stop gaslighting me!’ I’m a little ashamed to say it’s a phrase I’ve used more than once when losing an argument with my husband. Ashamed to say it because we both know what it really means, and because it’s something I’ve really gone through in the past, in a different relationship. It was a horrible experience: having my version of events questioned; being told I was imagining things; being told I’d said something I definitely didn’t; or that they hadn’t said something that they absolutely, definitely had. The overall effect was to manipulate and undermine, leading me to question everything I thought I knew. As a result, I take gaslighting very seriously.
So, I found it quite shocking to discover that ‘gaslighting’ is 2022’s Word of the Year, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Doesn’t that kind of jokey title, which brings to mind other dubious honours such as ‘rear of the year’ or ‘beard (Legend Press, £9.99), who explains the concept to me.
