In my book, I talk about "gaslighting," using the term to define what Lisa was doing to me in her attempt to offset my knowledge of her cheating and lying about it.

As Lisa did to come up with "The Othello Syndrome," I googled "gaslighting" and came up with some interesting stuff. Here’s a passage from a website called Abuse Victims and Survivors.

Sex addicts lie to keep their secret lives secret. They lie by omission and commission. They lie to lots of people. Most especially, they lie to their partners. They lie to cover up. They lie when their partners ask questions and express suspicion and doubt. Addicts gaslight their partners. This is one of the wounds that partners suffer and must heal.

Here’s the link for more on sexual addiction, a condition Lisa is clearly subject to:

http://groups.msn.com/AbuseVictimsandSurvivors/gaslightingandreality.msnw 

But gaslighting is about more than a sexual addict hiding his/her problem. Here are some definitions of the practice:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

http://users.aol.com/Relationshop/Definitions/gaslighting.html

http://www.raven1.net/gaslight.htm

Listen: If you think you’re losing touch with reality, going insane, maybe you are, but then again maybe you’re not.

Is there a Lisa in your life?