You’ve spent years being told your memory is unreliable, that you missed a significant social cue, that you’re too sensitive. So when somebody tells you the thing you saw didn’t happen, part of you already believes them.

Dr. Regina McMenomy and co-host Russ dig into gaslighting: where the term comes from, what separates deliberate manipulation from careless invalidation, and why late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults are so often on the receiving end. They unpack how working memory differences, years of masking, and rejection sensitivity can make someone else’s version of reality feel more trustworthy than your own, and how manipulators use power dynamics to exploit that gap.

Regina also shares her own experience in a relationship where gaslighting showed up as a steady stream of small corrections, laying the groundwork for bigger moments where her perception was supposed to give way. The good news: recognizing the pattern is where rebuilding self-trust begins.

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About Dr. Regina McMenomy, PhD

Regina is a neurodivergent coach and educator who helps late-diagnosed adults unmask, heal from burnout, and build lives aligned with how their brains work. She founded Divergent Paths Consulting to provide the type of coaching and support that late-diagnosed nerdy neurodivergent folks need after receiving their late diagnoses.