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Is my girlfriend gaslighting me? (Edit: No, she is not gaslighting me, but may have some other issues.)

Today, before taking an Uber home, she sent me a text wanting me to be downstairs on the street to greet her as the Uber arrives. I read it and told her that yes, I’ll be there. I didn’t notice any further text because I was in the middle of something.

Later, I hear the door opening and went to our door to greet her, she was furious and refused to talk to me. I realized I forgot to turn my phone back from silent mode after work today. I told her that it is my bad, she still refused to talk to me. At this point, things are still normal for our relationship, she would usually become willing to talk after a while.

I usually go to sleep at 22:30 and she knows, so I thought we’d sort things out tomorrow and went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night (later I found out it was 1a.m.) to her standing next to my bed (we sleep in separate bedrooms), and she began asking a series of pointed questions: “What would you do if you found out that I was gone?”, “What would you do if the CCTV on our street is broken by chance?”, “What would you tell my mother if I went missing?”, “If I was actually kidnapped, would you kill the guy for me?”

You know, the usual. I thought she’s just angry at me still and wanted to vent, so I went along with her for the time being: “I’d be very worried and look for you everywhere”, “I’d sue the city”, “I’d tell your mother exactly what happened and say I’m sorry”, and “I’d kill the guy who kidnapped you”.

She grumbled and asked a few follow-up questions, like “if you’re planning to kill the guy, what would you do with our cat?” But at this point, I think she’s finding it difficult to stay angry at me. I tell her again that I’m sorry I missed her text, and that next time this happens, she should just call me to make sure I see her text, but she left soon after without acknowledging my apology.

I know I’m in the wrong for missing her text. Not trying to argue otherwise. My question is, am I really responsible if someone kidnaps her between getting off the Uber and getting into our apartment complex? Is she trying to guilt trip me into thinking her anger is justified or am I really a horrible, kidnap-facilitating bad person for missing a few texts?

Edit for context: we live in a pretty safe city that ranks top 10 in the world on low crime rate. Also, thank you all for educating me on what gaslighting actually means. It was 2 in the morning when I posted this, I did not have the energy to find the answer myself.

silly_crotch ,

Is she Asian ?

RyanLiu OP ,

We are both Asian.

sp3tr4l ,

So, fair warning, I am autistic, but also, I’ve had several multi year relationships with people like this, here’s my read of this:

This is extremely manipulative and abusive behavior toward you.

You forgot about a text after a hard day of work.

She got angry and refused to speak with you for hours because you missed a text.

And you say this is apparently normal behavior.

That is fucking absurd, to be frank.

Before any of the rest of the story, that alone is bonkers.

Just do the reverse situation in your head. You’re out late for some on location work event, text her and ask if she can be there when you get back home. She forgets.

Would you be so angry or disappointed that you would refuse to speak to her for 3 hours, would that be something she would accept as normal behavior from you, and would she be inclined to blame herself and totally accept this punishment from you as appropriate?

The rest of this story is she wakes you up in the middle and questions you with absurd nonsensical questions that are all specifically designed as loyalty tests.

I had a 3 year relationship with a person like this.

She was schizophrenic, massively physically, mentally and emotionally abusive toward me.

I am of course not going to say your partner is schizophrenic based off of this alone, I am just saying that reading your story immediately sent me back into the mindstate and memories of my own.

It is however clear to me that your acceptance of this kind of behavior as normal, up until the middle of the night nonsense questioning, to me this indicates that she is utterly dominating you into total submission, and you think this is normal.

It is not.

Fucking bail out immediately is what I would do.

It is completely absurd to think that she could somehow have been kidnapped in the 30 seconds between getting out of an uber and walking to your door.

If she actually believed she was in real danger of being kidnapped, she almost certainly would have told you why, and would have asked you to evaluate her why and what to do to prevent it.

Shes fucking grooming you when she guilt trips you into saying you’d murder someone on her account in a totally hypothetical situation that she is taking extremely seriously.

She is trying to make you feel extremely guilty for things that 1) are not and would not be your fault if they occured and 2) have almost 0 chance of actually occurring.

Maybe there is a 1% chance she will open up later and tell you, wow ok, i was really on edge last night, here is why: and then recount an actual, unlikely but possible extremely unnerving situation.

Or, she is cheating on you or has done something you would be greatly displeased with if you found out, and this is all a reflection/distraction technique. She felt guilty so she leaped at any chance to make you into the bad guy.

Again, I obviously cannot say with any certainty that is what is actually going on, but I can certainly say that she is a highly manipulative and abusive person if you find it normal for her to just completely give you the silent treatment for hours for an inconsequential error.

Hikermick ,

She was trying to rattle you. Next time answer ridiculous questions with ridiculous answers

boatsnhos931 ,

deleted_by_moderator

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  • RampantParanoia2365 ,

    My main question is why are you already sleeping in separate bedrooms at this point?

    mortemtyrannis ,

    One of many reasons; people are shift workers and keep different hours and don’t want to disturb each others sleep when alarms go off/they get out of bed.

    RyanLiu OP ,

    I worked night shift for a year or two, that is indeed why we started sleeping in separate bedrooms. Right now, our schedule is still a 1-2 hours apart, enough for us to want to sleep in separate bedrooms.

    RinseDrizzle ,

    Absolutely wild lmao. I understand how it starts with opposite schedules but damn. My girl clocks in an hour earlier than me but also wakes up at least a couple before me for her morning ritual. I literally don’t even hear her alarms at this point. You know I’m getting them cuddles.

    Although hard to be encouraging getting them cuddles here – your tolerance for intolerable behavior from your significant other is beyond what I’d endure. Obviously just seeing a small slice of the relationship, but yeah nah I don’t play like that.

    After a few relationships my tolerance for bullshit drama is mighty low. Love my chill gal who down to earth and behaves like a reasonable adult.

    riodoro1 ,

    I know I’m in the wrong for missing her text. Not trying to argue otherwise.

    Totally wrong to have your own life. You’re not her legal guardian. You do have responsibilities but constant undivided attention is not one of them.

    olafurp ,

    It sounds like she was concerned about the Uber driver and didn’t feel like you didn’t make her feel safe. I think it’s an overreaction on her part but it’s still real feelings.

    You can’t win those arguments, you just have to stay calm and say that you’re sorry for not coming down as she was arriving. Then maybe ask if the driver made her feel uncomfortable or whatever.

    She doesn’t want answers, just empathy and a feeling that you care about her safety.

    pewgar_seemsimandroid ,

    speak Faroese.

    olafurp ,

    Speak Icelandic

    pewgar_seemsimandroid ,

    speak both and slowly devolve into gibberish

    olafurp ,

    Speak Finnish and then slowly devolve into Estonian

    RyanLiu OP ,

    My god, the amount of language I have to learn is monumental it seems

    olafurp ,

    Faroese and Icelandic are mutually intelligible so you can cross one off. :)

    BackOnMyBS ,
    @BackOnMyBS@lemmy.autism.place avatar

    Asking people online if your partner is gaslighting you is serious concern for your situation, whether her behaviors were actually gaslighting or not. Your intuition is telling you something is wayyyyy off. Also, that you had to ask us and not close friends, family, or her herself is another major red flag. Either you are socially isolated and have no one to ask or you are protecting her reputation because you know that those behaviors would be judged quite poorly by people that care about you.

    As someone that has dated something like that before, I know my words will not mean much to you. You will undoubtedly rationalize her behavior as her being justifiably triggered, reacting to childhood trauma, making a good point, cute because that’s how she communicates love, etc. Regardless, make a note of what everyone here is telling you. Her behaviors were not acceptable at all. There is no justification for them, and that you said it was the usual is troubling.

    The best anyone can do for you now is be a voice of reason and direct you to learn about psychological and emotional abuse so you can see it and decide for yourself. Here are 2 resources that I found helpful when I was in your situation:

    • Save Your Sanity is a series of videos/podcasts on being in a relationship with difficult people. She has all sorts of topics that are relevant, including how to spot gaslighting.
    • The other is the book Should I Stay or Should I Go? Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist by Ramani Durvasula. I like this one in particular because it has a questionnaire in it you can take to help you notice of you’re in a toxic relationship. Taking that questionnaire was the catalyst that started my escape. Check it out and be truthful. If she’s okay and this was just a unique experience, then there is nothing to worry about and the book will help you confirm that.

    I highly recommend that you don’t tell you partner you are looking into this. Ask anyone that’s been in an abusive relationship. Shoot, make another AskLemmy post asking this. Telling a potential abuser/narcissist/manipulator that you are on to them is a HUGE mistake. Instead, look into it on your own during your free time. If she accidentally catches you, say you ran into this online and it seemed interesting. A healthy partner won’t even think about it anymore. If she starts with an interrogation, gets upset, or suddenly becomes the best girlfriend ever, that’s manipulation.

    Certainly, she will commit more odd and questionable behaviors in the future. I urge you to maintain a secret log of her behaviors so that you can stay sane and notice. Please feel free to reach out. Don’t stay isolated. You can make another post, and you can even contact me directly via Matrix (see my profile). Good luck!

    Mothra ,
    @Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

    yes you would be responsible!!!1!1!! you’d be sent to jail with the same sentence as the kidnapper whether they catch it or not!!!

    Of course not. I would brush this off thinking your GF is probably not even 20 years old yet. The situation sounds a bit immature. I would be concerned if she’s older than 25 and making that scene though, it sounds like a very large red flag. Now, perhaps she’s been through some trauma that would explain the behaviour, if that’s the case you may want to consider professional help.

    pyre , (edited )

    the usual? what the fuck kind of people have you dated so far that asking a series of gone girl fantasy questions in the middle of the night acting like Kathy Bates from Misery is usual?

    RyanLiu OP ,

    I have dated exactly 1 (one) girl. I am her first relationship as well. Maybe we just don’t know what is normal lmao

    stom ,

    This ain’t it. I can smell the batshit from here.

    mrcleanup ,

    If there is one lesson I could teach my younger self, it would be to have several low commitment relationships while I was younger to learn what is “normal”. Once you start making murder pacts, it’s usually too late.

    RyanLiu OP ,

    Oh well, 7 years too late for me lmao

    Xuderis ,

    It’s never too late to break up. People get divorced with really complicated lives and they’re both better off. It will only get worse if you stick around. You should consider therapy together, although I think she really needs it on her own. She has to be willing to change her behavior.

    Noodle07 ,

    I dated in high-school but now I have been single for like 10 years, I feel so lost now it’s insane

    mrcleanup ,

    I wish I had good advice for how to connect with people after the school years, that’s just difficult.

    best_username_ever ,

    what is normal lmao

    It’s not, she’s crazy. Like “GTFO and block her ASAP” crazy.

    Silentiea ,
    @Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    I was thinking the same thing.

    She asked me to murder someone. You know, couples stuff.

    Aux ,

    Just run.

    TempermentalAnomaly ,

    You’re using rationality to defend your behavior instead of connecting emotionally around a fundamentally emotional issue. This doesn’t mean that her behavior was justified either, but rationality will only get you so far in solving this problem. Arguably, there’s an intimate and emotional reason you’re together. If you’re both not engaging in protecting and growing that first, then you’ll end in a you vs her situation.

    BenFranklinsDick ,

    Girl is crazy and you’re telling him that him being RATIONAL is problematic? Get the fuck out of here.

    laughterlaughter , (edited )

    People, it’s not this black and white either.

    If you think issues in a relationship can be solved with logic/rationality only… good luck!

    Having said that. Yup, she’s got issues that go beyond “the usual.”

    Edit: Downvoted by armchair relationship coaches.

    Ookami38 ,

    It’s true enough advice, though. She has an emotional problem, not a rational one. She probably knows full well that her response isn’t rational, but she still feels the feelings she has. Explaining the rationale and logic she seems to be missing is only going to make her more upset. Versus, instead, figuring out what her actual problem is. Maybe it’s a long standing issue, having texts ignored. Maybe she has some past trauma, or something specific happened that day that just set them off.

    It’s not always about being right or wrong. Her response, we all agree, was a wrong response. It’s one that I’d be considering the relationship for. But it’s also one to learn from, for all parties. Someone having a problem stemming from an emotion often isn’t going to be made better by logicing the situation into submission.

    rsuri ,

    if you’re planning to kill the guy, what would you do with our cat?”

    So…this makes no sense. If I had to guess, I’d imagine your girlfriend exhibits this kind of strange obsessive behavior inconsistently, has occasional bouts of depression, and is no older than 30. Regardless of whether I’m right (but especially if I am), you should consider whether your girlfriend is suffering from something that requires a psych evaluation and get her one.

    Noedel ,

    I know I’m in the wrong for missing her text

    You are not.

    Source: 20 years of a successful marriage.

    Your partner has some issues she seems to need to work through. Entertaining her delusions probably won’t help her.

    DudeImMacGyver ,
    @DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works avatar

    Run.

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