Gaslighting in the Workplace: Protecting Your Mental Health

Gaslighting, a form of emotional abuse, has evolved from its theatrical roots, the 1938 play “Gas Light,” to infest various aspects of life, most alarmingly, the professional environment.

How Workplace Gaslighting Works: Tactics and Techniques

At its core, gaslighting is about control. The primary mechanism involves a series of strategic lies, distorting facts, or making the target feel they are “too sensitive” or “overreacting” when expressing their feelings, leading them to question their sanity. This manipulation is particularly damaging in workplaces, where authority dynamics can amplify its impact.

This pattern of gaslighting matches the DARVO (Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender) pattern, as defined by Freyd (1997, 2024). Individuals who use DARVO first deny events (“That never happened”), attack the target's credibility (“You’re imagining things”), and reverse roles (“Now you’re harassing me”). DARVO benefits from humans’ innate prosocial nature, which prioritizes connection over conflict, as Freyd (1997, 2008) describes betrayal blindness, which preserves essential professional bonds. Freyd (2026) explains: “Betrayal blindness... [is] a way to survive [the] relationship because by not seeing the betrayal in its fullness, the... attachment behaviors can continue.” This human survival mechanism, rooted in childhood bonds, persists lifelong: fully seeing employer mistreatment risks status loss, so blindness maintains relational stability (Smith & Freyd, 2014). DARVO thus gains power from this adaptive vulnerability, silencing truth in hierarchies (Harsey & Freyd, 2022).

Sarah’s Story: How a Junior Executive Was Gaslit

Take, for example, Sarah, a bright and ambitious junior marketing executive eager to contribute to her reputable company. Her direct supervisor, Laura, was known for her efficacy and sharp acumen. However, as Sarah began to present innovative ideas during team meetings, Laura’s demeanor shifted from supportive to critical.

At first, Laura would dismiss Sarah's suggestions with remarks like, “That’s interesting, but our focus should be on proven strategies.” While these dismissals may have seemed harmless at first, Laura's tactics progressively intensified. After one presentation, Sarah was blindsided when Laura called her into her office. “You’ve got to be more careful with your presentations. You keep repeating the same old ideas,” Laura claimed, displaying a series of notes that Sarah had never seen before.

Confused and disheartened, Sarah began to question her abilities. “I thought I brought fresh solutions to the table,” she thought to herself. However, as weeks passed, every time Sarah presented an idea, Laura would twist the narrative. “You need to pay more attention to feedback,” Laura insisted in meetings, even citing examples that never happened, leading Sarah to believe she was misremembering past discussions.

Laura also publicly undermined Sarah’s confidence by stating, “You have to improve if you want to succeed here,” while embellishing her own successes. Sarah’s colleagues noticed the tension but were unaware of the subtle manipulation or too fearful to intervene. As Sarah’s feelings of inadequacy grew, she became increasingly withdrawn, doubting her competence and fearing that she was incompetent. The tactics used by Laura reached a fever pitch when she claimed, “If only you were capable of understanding our vision,” implying that Sarah's confusion stemmed from her shortcomings rather than Laura’s murky explanations. This statement stung deeply for Sarah, who had always been a high performer.

In her struggle to grasp the reality of her performance reviews, riddled with vague criticisms and unsubstantiated concerns, Sarah found it nearly impossible to discern what was genuinely expected of her. The crippling self-doubt festered, and fear of reprisal from Laura kept her from seeking help or validation from her peers.

Photo by Avi Agarwal @aviagarwal via Unsplash.

The Devastating Effects of Gaslighting: Mental Health & Career Impact

The grim reality is that workplace gaslighting has devastating individual consequences that, in turn, foster broader organizational harm. Targets like Sarah experience chronic confusion, disorientation, anxiety, depression, burnout, hypervigilance, and self-doubt—often leading to social withdrawal and turnover intentions (Moisoglou et al., 2025a, 2025). Sarah’s experience reveals how this individual suffering between supervisors and subordinates creates cultures of fear, diminished productivity, and warped team dynamics. Individuals who use these tactics not only undermine targets but also cultivate environments that stifle collaboration. They are haunted by a pervasive fear that their contributions will be belittled or misunderstood.

Moreover, this example highlights the imperceptible nature of gaslighting in professional settings. Unlike overt bullying—which involves observable behaviors like yelling, public humiliation, threats, or social exclusion that witnesses can readily identify—gaslighting operates covertly through subtle reality distortion, leaving targets isolated and questioning their own perceptions. This insidious invisibility makes gaslighting particularly destructive, as it erodes individual mental health while silently dismantling organizational trust and ethical cultures from within.

How to Stop Gaslighting: Strategies for a Healthier Workplace

The first step is recognizing workplace gaslighting. Organizations must prioritize open communication and psychological safety. Freyd (2021) advocates institutional courage as the antidote to betrayal. This means “cherish the whistleblower" protocols. These reward truth-tellers. They ensure respectful investigations. No reflexive disbelief. They engage reporters in remedies, not punishment. Training on DARVO/gaslighting tactics can empower individuals to effectively confront and counter gaslighting.

Studies show proactive policies work. Bystander intervention training reduces tolerance for manipulation (Kukreja et al., 2023). Ethical climates that prioritize voice lower turnover by 28% and boost engagement (Farid et al., 2024).

Sarah’s story is a stark reminder of what happens when manipulation and control supersede healthy workplace relationships. By understanding and addressing these dynamics, we can cultivate workplaces that are not only productive but also nurturing, a far cry from the chilling manipulations of gaslighting. Raising awareness empowers us to reclaim autonomy, protect mental well-being, and foster ethical professional environments.

If you suspect you are being gaslighted, professional therapeutic help is essential for your well-being. Expressing your feelings in a safe environment outside your workplace and having them validated by a professional can help you gain clarity and confidence in your perceptions.

References

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Freyd, J. J. (1997). II. Violations of power, adaptive blindness and betrayal trauma theory. Feminism & Psychology, 7(1), 22-32. Link.

Freyd, J. J. (2008). Betrayal trauma. In G. Reyes, J. D. Elhai, & J. D. Ford (Eds.). Encyclopedia of psychological trauma (p. 76). John Wiley & Sons.

Freyd, J. J. (2024). DARVO - Jennifer Joy Freyd, PhD. Link.

Freyd, J. J., & Smidt, A. M. Smith (2014). Institutional betrayal. American Psychologist, 69(6), 575–587. Link.

Harsey, S. J., & Freyd, J. J. (2022). Defamation and DARVO. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 23(5), 481–489. Link.

Kukreja, P., Tripathi, S., & Gupta, A. (2023). Workplace gaslighting: Conceptualization, development, and validation of a scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1099485. Link.

Moisoglou, I., Katsiroumpa, A., Konstantakopoulou, O., Mangoulia, P., Tsiachri, M., Koinis, A., ... & Galanis, P. (2025a, December). Workplace Gaslighting: Implications for Employees’ Mental Health and Work Life in Greece. In Healthcare (Vol. 13, No. 24, p. 3255). MDPI. Link.

Moisoglou, I., Katsiroumpa, A., Konstantakopoulou, O., Papathanasiou, I. V., Katsapi, A., Prasini, I., ... & Galanis, P. (2025b, July). Workplace Gaslighting Is Associated with Nurses’ Job Burnout and Turnover Intention in Greece. In Healthcare (Vol. 13, No. 13, p. 1574). MDPI. Link.

Smith, C. P., & Freyd, J. J. (2014). Institutional betrayal. American Psychologist, 69(6), 575–587. Link.