Confidence vs. Gaslighting: Reclaiming Self-Trust
They told you that you couldn’t trust yourself. Every time you felt certain, they twisted the scene until you doubted your own eyes.
That’s what gaslighting does—it erodes confidence, brick by brick, until self-doubt becomes your second skin. You stop trusting your memory, your instincts, even your heartbeat. But hear this: their distortion doesn’t erase your truth. Confidence can be rebuilt, and it starts by choosing your own voice over their script.
Confidence is not arrogance. It’s the quiet strength of saying, “I know what I saw. I know how I felt.” The narcissist wants you to surrender that certainty, because your clarity is their undoing. When you anchor to your truth, their power collapses.
Every time you record what happened, every time you rehearse your boundary out loud, every time you repeat your truth until it feels solid again—you are reforging confidence. Step by step, you are taking back the one weapon they could never hold forever: your belief in yourself.
Do this today (10–15 minutes each):
- Write down three moments this week where you doubted yourself—then record the facts exactly as they happened.
- Stand in front of a mirror and rehearse one confidence line: “I trust what I know. My reality is valid.”
- Call or text one ally: “I need a reality check. Here’s what happened. Do you see it too?”
- Create a “Confidence Folder” on your phone or computer—start saving logs, screenshots, and affirmations in one place.
Journal prompts:
- When did I first learn to doubt myself—and whose voice taught me that?
- What evidence today proves my reality is solid?
- What does confidence in my own voice feel like in my body?
Want to tell your story on Survivor Stories Saturday? Email [email protected].
Stay powerful—your healing starts here.
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