HopeIsLost
New Here
Okay, I understand this platform is suppose to help people. But I’m very shocked that person running this platform is a gaslighter.
Honestly I hate that bad people use platforms like this to enable abusers but make victims feel they should be ashamed. The proof is here.
Exhibit 1: Gaslighting Can Be Used To Pretend Help Someone To Groom Them Into Being A Victim Again
When someone says you’re “imagining” your trauma or that the trauma you’re experiencing isn’t real—even though it is—that is called gaslighting.
What is gaslighting?
Cognitive distortion forms the backbone of PTSD. Whether you know it or not, all moods and behavioral patterns originate from your cognitions-- your thoughts. The first thing that happens is a thought, and then a mood or behavior occurs.
When you allow an area of your life to become dominated by negative thoughts, you'll come to believe things are as bad as you -- frequently incorrectly-- imagine them to be.
Tell me what is wrong about this ? And the wording of “imagine them to be”
What’s wrong with that statement—especially from a trauma survivor’s perspective:
It is highly dangerous, to claim that real life abuse is imagined and something that is “distorted thinking.” Accountability of abuse is not distorted thinking, it’s ignored justice.
Why is this especially harmful with trauma?
Honestly I hate that bad people use platforms like this to enable abusers but make victims feel they should be ashamed. The proof is here.
Exhibit 1: Gaslighting Can Be Used To Pretend Help Someone To Groom Them Into Being A Victim Again
When someone says you’re “imagining” your trauma or that the trauma you’re experiencing isn’t real—even though it is—that is called gaslighting.
What is gaslighting?
- It’s a form of emotional abuse and manipulation where someone denies or minimizes your reality, making you doubt your own perceptions, memories, or feelings.
- The goal is often to gain control or avoid accountability by making you question what you know to be true.
Cognitive distortion forms the backbone of PTSD. Whether you know it or not, all moods and behavioral patterns originate from your cognitions-- your thoughts. The first thing that happens is a thought, and then a mood or behavior occurs.
When you allow an area of your life to become dominated by negative thoughts, you'll come to believe things are as bad as you -- frequently incorrectly-- imagine them to be.
Tell me what is wrong about this ? And the wording of “imagine them to be”
What’s wrong with that statement—especially from a trauma survivor’s perspective:
- Saying moods and behaviors originate from your thoughts ignores how real external abuse shapes those thoughts. It makes it sound like the pain and reactions are just “in your head” or “imagined,” which is not true. The abuse you’ve endured isn’t a distortion — it’s real.
- The phrase “imagine them to be” is especially painful because it implies that your very real experiences and the danger you perceive are just your mind playing tricks on you. But when you react to abuse or feel on guard, you’re responding to actual threats and harm — not illusions or exaggerations.
- This framing often blames survivors for how they feel, as if the trauma was somehow “made up” or “overblown” rather than acknowledging that trauma rewires your brain and nervous system to be hyper-alert and protective — a survival mechanism, not a distortion.
It is highly dangerous, to claim that real life abuse is imagined and something that is “distorted thinking.” Accountability of abuse is not distorted thinking, it’s ignored justice.
Why is this especially harmful with trauma?
- Trauma already makes trusting your own feelings and memories difficult.
- When someone tells you your real, physical pain or trauma is “just imagined,” it invalidates your experience and can increase confusion, self-doubt, and emotional distress.
