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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.

7uWqKj ,

The bitch is crazy, get rid of her asap

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

This is absolutely manipulative.

Whether she realizes it or not, refusing to engage or talk about it, except in her own time frame- is not a good sign for a healthy relationship, and when she did decide to talk about it, put you into a compromised position- being unable to think clearly.

The questions she’s asking are meant to elicit fear and massive guilt. Though to be blunt, I’m going to assume there’s no real danger of any of that happening, I assume the neighborhood is fairly safe. Because usually it is.

As for what you’d do…? Call the cops. Duh. You (probably) don’t have the resources to find any one and kill them, and besides which, if she’s really asking that you do, uhm… dodge that bullet.

Ookami38 , (edited )

Whether she realizes it or not, refusing to engage or talk about it, except in her own time frame- is not a good sign for a healthy relationship,

Haaaaaaaaaard disagree. People need time to process and self regulate before engaging with things like this. The silent treatment isn’t the right play, and neither is stewing in it, not trying to reach an emotionally grounded state, and reapproacing the situation.

A much more healthy response, from either individual, would be to set a timeframe for when they can reengage. Either him saying “clearly you don’t want to discuss this now. That’s okay. How about the morning?” or her saying the same, essentially. It’s healthy to admit that you just do not have the emotional capacity to have a conversation respectfully.

There’s a pretty good chance the questions asked were only asked because she was still very emotionally high. The fact that it occurred in the middle of the night, suddenly, after OP being asleep, says that she has probably not been regulating. Not good times to be having emotional discourse. Every person has said weird, gross, or straight up untrue things when they’re emotionally charged. Stuff you don’t believe or wouldn’t act on, and never would have said in a normal state.

None of this is to excuse any of the actions or words said. She clearly has some emotional issues, and needs actual, professional help. I’m just picking at the “refusing to talk” bit. There are healthy ways to refuse to talk, and many benefits to not just butting heads immediately.

Edit for clarity: the only thing I disagree is the bit I quoted. The bit about engaging outside of a timeframe comfortable to you. I feel like some people are thinking I’m defending the GF - to be clear, I am not. Again, I am JUST disagreeing with the bit I directly quoted.

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

Haaaaaaaaaard disagree. People need time to process and self regulate before engaging with things like this. The silent treatment isn’t the right play, and neither is stewing in it, not trying to reach an emotionally grounded state, and reapproacing the situation.

So she gets to unilaterally decide when they talk? including, when the OP is in a vulnerable mental state? I think you’re focusing too much on what the GF needs and denying the OP the same you’d give her. The fact that he was sleeping would definitely suggest he’s not ready to have the conversation.

Ookami38 ,

I didn’t say he couldn’t also choose to pick a better time. It’s a mutual thing. They both need time to process the new information, get into a more healthy state, and readdress this thing. That can only happen when both say as much.

I’m pretty sure I said as much in the rest of the post, if you want to go back and read the other 80%.

sp3tr4l ,

She gave him the silent treatment.

She did not say: “Look, I’m really angry/flustered/sad/whatever right now, please give me some space and we can talk about this later.”

She then was just standing there at 1 am at his bed, implying either she’d been standing there for a while (weird) or she woke him up (rude).

The situation as described has nothing in common with two partners who understand themselves and their boundaries well and set aside a time to discuss things in a mutually agreed upon time and place when they both expect to have more emotional bandwidth.

Ookami38 , (edited )

Again, did I say she did things perfectly? Nope. In fact she did them pretty fucking bad. Go back to my first post and read it again, please. I said those things were bad BECAUSE she was doing them.

I only ever had an issue with the person I replied to saying that you have to engage in the conversation, possibly before you’re ready. No. That’s wrong. You engage with the conversation when BOTH PARTIES feel comfortable.

Both people can be right, or wrong. They both handled it pretty badly. I’d say she probably handled it worse. Again, the ONLY THING I’m commenting on at all is the implication that someone MUST engage with a conversation before they’re ready to.

Nuance and reading comprehension are hard.

Edit for clarity: the only thing I disagree with from the original comment I replied to is the bit that I quoted. The bit about engaging outside of a timeframe comfortable to you. I feel like some people are thinking I’m defending the GF - to be clear, I am not. Again, I am JUST disagreeing with the bit I directly quoted.

solrize ,

I’ll leave the psychological analysis to others but when I’m in a text discussion that needs synchronization (e.g. pick someone up at the train station), I usually respond to incoming texts as soon as I see them, e.g. with “ok”, unless I’m driving and the person is expecting me. Even if I’m driving, I’ll hear the incoming text buzz the phone, so if I think it needs immediate attention I’ll pull over and look at it. So lack of such a text response within a few minutes could indicate “follow up with a voice call”.

FeelzGoodMan420 ,

Rekt

mundane ,

Texts are not synchronous communication. If a response/action is needed, a voice call is better suited.

tiefling ,

“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.

Are you ok? Blink twice if you’re ok

ramenshaman ,

Abandon ship, my dude.

Alexstarfire ,

None of that is gaslighting. However, it’s a red flag.

Illuminostro ,

Agreed. Sounds like Borderline Personality Disorder. Get her some help, or get far, far away.

peopleproblems ,

No, it doesn’t. Nothing here screams fear of abandonment. It screams insecurity, it screams anxiety, it screams mentally unhealthy, but this doesn’t say anything that could highlight BPD, or any other disorder.

Illuminostro ,

It absolutely does, and I’m getting the vibe this is personal for you. This is not about you.

peopleproblems ,

It absolutely does not. I’m not sure what you guys aren’t reading here, but the very first paragraph is about her wanting HIM to greet her when she arrived home in the Uber.

Being scared of being kidnapped is not fear of abandonment.

Y’all aren’t helping him if you’re telling him the wrong reasons to do the right thing. That ends up hurting both.

Illuminostro ,

I have first hand personal knowledge of Borderline disorder. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

monsterpiece42 , (edited )

Jumping in, I also have a lot of BPD experience (example, a marriage of well over 10 years).

This is very BPD-adjacent. I’m not saying OP’s gf has it per se, because there is no way we can know from here, but this is definitely on brand.

If you read between the lines, the social conversation could written as this:

“Heading home, I need support”

“I’ll support”

<Doesn’t support>

<She feels abandoned, fight or flight kicks in and it turns her attachment-avoidant, results in silent treatment>

<OP gives space, which is interpreted as further abandonment>

<OPGF can’t take it anymore, and asks questions that feel like they’re out of left field because in fight-or-flight kicks in, clear thought is nearly impossible>

<OP finally gives reassurance that he didn’t abandon her>

<Normalcy continues>

[email protected] read through this comment chain, therapy is the answer here.

Wes4Humanity ,

This is not gaslighting, but it is odd.

What would have happened if you had just said “sorry I’m really busy with work today and won’t be able to meet you at the drop off”?

If this would cause her to act the same way, then there’s something wrong. Maybe she recently did a true crime binge and is feeling insecure about her safety? Or maybe she’s showing signs of mental illness. If you guys are in your early 20s, that’s when schizophrenia typically shows up, and can definitely have some paranoia to it. But, you’d need to get a professional to diagnose something like that.

If it wouldn’t cause her to act like this, then she’s probably just pissed you didn’t do what you said you would do. Maybe you have a track record of this kind of behavior and she’s starting to get tired of it?

GBU_28 ,

I’m sorry, can you highlight anything from this story that aligns with the definition of “gaslighting”? I’m sure you looked up the definition and examples before you typed out this post

14th_cylon ,

since op is asking questions like

My question is, am I really responsible if someone kidnaps her

i’d say she is pretty successful

GBU_28 ,

That is not gaslighting holy shit

Illuminostro ,

en.wikipedia.org/…/Borderline_personality_disorde…

“Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined emotional abandonment.”

Run. She may decide to do the old murder/suicide if she thinks you’re going to leave her.

EatATaco ,

Holy shit you gotta love the Internet with people, based on this one story, thinking it makes sense to warn that she might be planning a murder suicide. Lol wow.

Nima ,
@Nima@leminal.space avatar

also why does it have 22 upvotes? very scary.

peopleproblems ,

Really? No.

Borderline personality disorder is a special kind of crazy, yes, but it’s severe abandonment anxiety at it’s core. I hate how much BPD gets thrown around, because it’s quite a bit more benign than people understand.

This situation doesn’t tell us ANYTHING about any mental disorder she may or may not have.

IT DOES tell us that she is not a healthy individual and he needs to fucking run because we don’t want to find out what really is wrong with her.

Illuminostro ,

She wanted him to let her know when he got home so she could meet him at the door. To know he was there. And then punished him for forgetting, in a very irrational way. That is the definition of the fear of abandonment.

peopleproblems ,

No, SHE wanted him to meet HER at the Uber when SHE got home.

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.

Nima ,
@Nima@leminal.space avatar

can we stop villainizing a mental illness please? this is the most blatant overblown reaction ever.

also, his girlfriend is just batshit. just say that. it’s obvious, but you don’t need to insult those who suffer just because it’s a convenient tool to use as a villain.

BPD sucks all the way around. don’t use it as a catch-all for your hatred.

frightful_hobgoblin ,

this is the most blatant overblown reaction ever.

correct take

Illuminostro ,

Motherfucker, Im Borderline myself. I KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I’M TALKING ABOUT.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU, NARCISSUS.

Nima ,
@Nima@leminal.space avatar

take it easy, dude. don’t all caps me because I don’t share your views on BPD.

also I love how you say “this is not about you” when literally you made it about you and BPD 😂 and then fabricated some murder suicide plot for some reason.

lol.

eran_morad ,

Fucking run, bro.

14th_cylon ,

everything was already said in this thread, except for one thing: it is pretty normal that the taxi driver waits for the woman to enter the building; she can always ask to make sure he will do that.

so there really isn’t factual problem in the scenario that was described.

norimee ,

Has any of you guys commenting even thought that they live in an overly dangerous place and she was genuinely scared?

Of course, waking him in the middle of the night was over the top and maybe a red flag, but anxiety can do that to you.

What would you do if the CCTV on our street is broken by chance?

Who has CCTV in a residential street, that isn’t dangerous to walk through? Nowhere where I live, but I’ve been to some sketchy parts of Manila for example where my local friends would freak out at the thought of walking home from the corner alone. (“Oh my god, do you have a death wish? You can’t let them drop you anywhere that isnt directly your actual door! Someone will kidnap or kill you!”)

I think her behaviour was somewhat understandable if she was genuinely scared and felt let down by him because he seemingly didn’t care for her safety.

We all act irrational sometimes when we are scared, that doesn’t mean everyone has a personality disorder or someone even suggested schizophrenia. Seriously people! Cut others some slack for some irrational emotions every now and then.

OP, tell your girlfriend that you love her and care about her and that you’ll make an effort to be more thoughtful of her safety and her fears in the future. Because this just might be it. She felt unsafe and that you didn’t care if something happens to her. She probably had these thoughts on a loop in her head since she got home.

EatATaco ,

I’m generally pretty generous when it comes to realizing I’m hearing one side of the story and that it’s always much more complicated.

But, dear God man, if what he says is even remotely true and she was hovering over him while he was sleeping, and then when he awoke she asked if he would murder someone for her, and then what he plans to do with their cat after the murder, that’s not just being “genuinely afraid” and acting irrationally when in the middle of being very afraid.

She might be suffering from some anxiety that she needs to address, but let’s not play down how disturbing this is…especially because he called it “the usual.”

Skankboot ,

would you kill the guy for me?

You know, the usual.

barsquid ,

If she consistently behaves like this when you make a mistake, then you are being emotionally abused.

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