How Do I Know If I Can Trust My Perceptions?

If you grew up experiencing gaslighting, invalidation, or chronic criticism, it can become very difficult to trust your own perceptions. Over time, many people learn to automatically assume that other people are more accurate, reasonable, or trustworthy than they are. Dissociative amnesia and conflicting internal perspectives can make this even more confusing.

Learning to trust your perceptions again is often a gradual process rather than an immediate feeling of certainty. Instead of asking yourself whether you are “100% correct,” it may be more helpful to begin noticing patterns. For example, when you repeatedly notice the same concern, emotional reaction, or red flag over time, it may deserve attention rather than immediate dismissal.

Trusting your perceptions also does not require assuming you are always right. It means recognizing that your thoughts, emotions, memories, and reactions deserve consideration instead of being automatically ignored, minimized, or overridden.

This page is part of the Self Trust section of the CommuniDID site, which explains how self-doubt, second-guessing, and internal uncertainty develop, particularly in environments involving invalidation, gaslighting, or inconsistent feedback.

Explore more:

• Questions about Self Trust
• Survival Strategies: How Trauma Responses Made Sense at the Time

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