The Official Website of Michael Corthell

"Like a sinister fog, gaslighting engulfs the mind, leaving it shrouded in doubt and vulnerable to manipulation." by Michael Corthell 'Gaslighting' is a cunning tactic used by individuals or entities to exert control over others, causing the victims to doubt their own reasoning and perception of reality. Its effectiveness is more significant than one might imagine. Any person can fall prey to 'gaslighting', and it is a commonly employed technique by abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. The process is insidious, gradually dimming the victim's awareness, much like slowly reducing the intensity of a light, until they are unaware of the extent to which they've been manipulated. A classic illustration of 'gaslighting' can be seen in the movie "Gaslight" (1944), where a man manipulates his wife to the point of making her believe she is going insane. The primary tactic used in 'gaslighting' is the outright fabri...

by Michael Corthell Let's start with the Big Lie: ''Donald Trump and his allies were peddling lies about the 2020 presidential election within hours of the polls closing on Nov. 3, but the seriousness of the misinformation campaign escalated in the days, weeks, and months that followed. The intensity of the deceptive propaganda reached dangerous levels in early January, culminating in an insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol.''(source: NBC News) Delusional thinking is something that we all practice. This type of thinking is on a continuum from very mild to extreme detachment from reality. For instance, when we go to the movies we all tend to, ''suspend our disbelief''. We as human beings generally love being fooled. That is why magicians and sleight-of-hand artists draw large crowds. These instances are mild and not dangerous, but mass delusional thinking is not, such as what gripped Germany in the pre-World War Two era. Both ends of th...

by Michael Corthell Let's start by saying that we are all liars by definition. If you tell me you have never lied once in your life, then you are a liar. Okay, we have that important point out of the way. You might be interested to know that more than 80 percent of all lies people tell go undetected. But does that surprise you? We all learn to lie early on. Think back to when you were very young, and it shouldn't surprise you that lying is such a common behavior. When asked about eating a piece of candy before a meal, most children are guaranteed punishment if they admit to it. Lying, they reason, gives them a much lower probability of being punished—that is, if they don't get caught. Lying is part of being human—it is a defense mechanism. ''The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.'' —John Ruskin So then, people tell lies all the time, that is a fact and many are very skilled at it depending on...

  The greatest dishonor is ingratitude for good received.