The Gaslighting Effect: Recent Episodes
Angela
I’m Angela. A writer, teacher, and cult survivor. After decades of being silenced, I’m finally finding my voice.
In this episode, Jessica, a self-described ExMormon sex worker, shares how she came to be in the crosshairs of an ego-driven man who has no qualms about destroying anyone else, just as long as it benefits him.
TikTok’s Maggie in Babylon joins this podcast episode to discuss how predators turn the tables on their victims and if there’s anything that can be done about it.
This episode is dedicated to the enabling attitudes and behaviors in the ExMormon community that allow predators to continue hurting people.
An introduction to season 5, which will be devoted to talking about predatory behavior in communities recovering from religious trauma.
Why did my ex-husband get so angry? How could my mother gaslight me for a decade, yet believe she had done nothing wrong? In this episode I explore these questions.
In 1980’s white suburbia, there was a mold we had to fit. Even the Mormons. Especially the Mormons.
A discussion of how a child can be groomed to accept sexual abuse even when parents never physically touch them.
A personal episode about the status quo in the United States during the Coronavirus pandemic and how it will change my career trajectory.
What is spiritual abuse? A description of 4 tactics used in spiritually abusive communities.
13 ways a friend, partner, or family member can manipulate and control you without hitting or raising their voice.
If your partner uses these ten tactics to keep you in a state of submission, you may be in a verbally abusive relationship.
Your family might follow the enmeshment doctrine if your future has been planned out for you and healthy boundaries are perceived as a threat.
No one gets a free pass to treat you like cr*p. Not even family. Especially not family.
My dad is father of the year... until he doesn’t gets his way. 7 signs someone you love may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Dedicated to my father, I kick off season 3 by analyzing the home he grew up in and the poisonous effects of choosing perfectionism over people.
How I went from believing God was outside myself and that my body was the enemy to integrating a soul-body connection that led to greater self-acceptance.
What exactly is touch deprivation? A list of comforting touch substitutes, the most healing way to be touched, and the importance of having at least one secure attachment in your life.
12 unwritten narcissistic family rules you must break to develop self-compassion. Plus, three practices to accept and forgive yourself.
A rundown of YouTube videos, blogs, and books to help heal from workplace mobbing. Plus nine ways to know you’re relatively safe in your relationships.
The three degrees of mobbing injury and how I’ve been personally effected by the experience.
The reactions of my bullies after I formally resigned told me a lot about who they were. It wasn’t pretty.
When my principal and vice principal became aware of the mobbing, they could have stopped it. Instead they joined in. In this episode, I talk about how that felt and the resulting repercussions.
Being mobbed is like being chased by a pack of wolves. No one will help you because they’re too afraid of the wolves. In this episode, I talk about the effects of being stigmatized in the workplace. It happened to me almost overnight and it was terrifying.
What is a “critical incident” in workplace mobbing? It’s the moment power is challenged. When the status quo is threatened, it bites back.
Before stage one of the mobbing process, the warning signs are there. When it happened to me, I didn’t recognize them. Here I detail the behaviors I missed and the personal traits that made me vulnerable.
In this episode, I talk about some red flags of an unhealthy work environment, characteristics of bad bosses, and how my first year of teaching went from bad to worse.
Content warning for gruesome descriptions of violence. Discussed is how mobbing differs from lynching and how powerless populations have historically been subject to stage 5 of the mobbing process: expulsion or elimination through public execution and/or forced sterilization.
When an entire class gangs up on a student for the duration of an entire school year, it’s more than mere bullying. Content warning for discussion of suicidal ideation.
A review of the first two mobbing stages and a detailed example of how the phenomenon can stop. Hint: It can’t reach stage four. Also discussed is the ripple effect of gossip culture in schools, the importance of therapy, and how inner child work has helped me.
Being the family scapegoat is isolating, and recovery is a daunting journey. It has many striking similarities to the unsettling dynamics of workplace mobbing.
Power as influence. This episode is devoted to analyzing “power” through the work of Dacher Keltner, who has written several books and teaches at U.C. Berkley. The dimensions of power are explored here: the good, the bad, and the scary.
Healthy relationships are healing. Unhealthy ones are toxic. In this episode I share the enormous and striking contrast between the healthy relationship I have with my current boyfriend and the poisonous one I had with my ex-husband.
From being in poverty to being in love, I explain how writing down my pain led to healing and growth.
Much of my trauma has occurred in elementary schools. Yet I’m attempting to heal as I work in one. In this episode I talk about why.
Divorce is hard in the best of circumstances. But it’s so much worse when one or both parents seek to manipulate the kids. In this episode Wallace tells his story. Trigger warning for attempted suicide.
All about autism and my oldest son. The difference between a tantrum and a meltdown, how we handle crisis, and the effects of shame.
Parents who prioritize image above their children’s needs and feelings deserve a special place in mosquito heaven without nets, or pants, or bug spray. Trigger warning for depictions of verbal abuse and medical neglect. This episode is pretty heavy.
In this episode, I talk about gaining more autonomy and support. Also discussed are prayer, forgiveness, and how I lost my faith in God. Content warning for profanity.
A review of journal entries written right after I left Mormonism that reveal the unraveling of my marriage.
An analysis of how stories are used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to increase feelings of persecution and elitism among the membership.