Held After Harm

One of the hardest things about workplace gaslighting is that it rarely feels dramatic while it’s happening.

It often feels like confusion.

Like replaying conversations in your head.

Like wondering:

“Did I misunderstand?”

“Am I overreacting?”

“Why do I suddenly doubt myself all the time?”

Not every difficult interaction is gaslighting.

But if repeated workplace experiences have left you doubting your memory, instincts or confidence, it may be worth getting curious about the environment you’re in.

You deserve communication that feels safe, respectful and clear.

Sometimes burnout is burnout.

And sometimes something harder to name is happening too.

When workplaces feel emotionally unsafe, unpredictable, critical, or confusing, the impact can go far beyond tiredness.

You might lose confidence.

Trust in yourself.

A sense of safety.

Even parts of who you used to be.

If any of this feels familiar, this is your reminder:

You are not weak.

And you are not failing for being affected by an environment that hurt.

Be a part of building a supportive community!

Did work leave marks no one could see?

If you want to share your story anonymously — what happened, what people misunderstood, or what helped you heal — we would love to hear from you.

No pressure. No judgement. Just understanding.

One of the cruellest things workplace emotional harm can take is confidence.

Not loudly.

Quietly.

Until one day, someone who used to feel capable starts doubting every email, every decision, every interaction.

You may have told yourself:

“I’ve changed.”

“I’m just not good at this anymore.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

But confidence often struggles to survive in environments that feel unsafe, unpredictable or relentlessly critical.

If this happened to you:

You are not weak.

You are not broken.

And losing confidence does not mean you lost yourself forever.

Sometimes healing begins with understanding why confidence left in the first place.

One of the hardest things about workplace gaslighting is that it rarely feels obvious while it’s happening.

It can feel like confusion.

Like replaying conversations over and over.

Like wondering:

“Did I misunderstand?”

“Am I overreacting?”

“Why do I suddenly doubt myself all the time?”

Especially when the person causing harm holds authority.

Not every misunderstanding is gaslighting.

But if you’ve started losing trust in your own memory, instincts, or confidence — it may be worth getting curious about the environment you’re in.

You deserve workplaces where communication feels safe, respectful and clear.

Not all narcissistic abuse happens at home.

You stopped recognising yourself.

Not all at once.

Slowly.

You started shrinking.

Second-guessing.

Explaining too much.

Apologising before you’d even spoken.

People called it stress.

Not all narcissistic abuse happens at home.

Sometimes it happens at work.

Sometimes it looks like confusion. Fear. Walking on eggshells. Losing confidence slowly. Questioning yourself constantly.

This space exists for the people who left work feeling like they lost themselves.

For the people still wondering: “Was it really that bad?”

You are welcome here.