Caught in the Middle

Deconstructing Gaslighting™

It’s back to school season, and as such, this month my two podcast episodes are going to be focused on supporting all the parents out there.

One of the most difficult places we can experience GASLIGHTING is when we are having to “parallel parent” with a GASLIGHTING ex. The stories I’ve heard throughout my career of how this has played out would break your heart. So today I’ve invited someone near and dear to my heart to help me talk about this very difficult topic and give you some ideas of how to handle this if you are one of the many who don’t get to walk away from your gaslighter like I did.

Welcome to Deconstructing Gaslighting®, the podcast. I’m your host, Sarah Morales. If this is the first time you’re listening to the pod, welcome! If you are looking for help around GASLIGHTING issues, I encourage you to check out my website, where I have a number of self-paced programs designed to help you find your answers around GASLIGHTING.

My guest today is Lindsay - a therapist and mother to five boys.

Story Time: Sarah and Lindsay talk about a variety of ways parents who have divorced their gaslighter, but still share children, experience GASLIGHTING. From "love-bombing" to undermining, they share many relatable stories and a few tips and tools to help you if you can relate.

Top Take-Aways:

1. Give yourself permission to prioritize yourself so that you can be fully present for your kiddos.
2. Remember this important FACT: It’s NOT your job to “cover” or “protect” that gaslighting parent.
3. Remember the goal: stay connected to what you know to be true.
4. You don’t have to prove yourself to your ex/validate why you want the boundaries/”rules”, etc. – if they don’t agree/wont’ comply, you get to differentiate, etc.
5. Remember this statement: "If it's important to me, then it's important".

I wanted to invite you to follow me on your preferred social media platform… I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Thank you, my listener, for listening to today’s episode. If you found it helpful and want to help me get it in the hands of more people who could benefit from it, please leave a review and subscribe. Additionally, if you can think of one person in particular who could benefit, please share it with them.

And remember – you may have crashed and burned; been broken and hurt, but damn it, you’re a phoenix and you’re rising again. I think it’s time we fly.