What do capitalism, socialism, and communism really mean—beyond the buzzwords and political shouting matches? In this episode, Kris breaks down each system’s promises, pitfalls, and who really wins or loses under them. Plus, what exactly is “late-stage capitalism,” and why does it feel like we’re living in it?
(Because we are)
It's easy to feel (and be) misguided in these chaotic times. I bring the definitions and explanations!
The Republicans are making you fear Antifa!
But who is Antifa?
They are anti-fascist.
Okay, so what's a "fascist"?
Fascism is a kind of government or political system where one leader or one group has total control, and everyone else is expected to obey.
What might sound appealing to begin with ends up having having enormous costs to freedom: loss of rights, persecution of minorities, suppression of dissent, enforced conformity, militarism, state terror, corruption.
As for the "terrorist group" Antifa!? There’s no national Antifa organization. It’s just small, local groups —or even individuals — who step in when they see fascism, racism, or hate being spread.
I used to think ‘narcissist’ just meant someone selfish orego-driven. Then I grew up inside a family system built on manipulation, and I learned the word held a lot more teeth than I realized.
I’ll define narcissism and malignant narcissism, explain gaslighting and its psychological harm, provide concrete examples you may have seen from the presidency and administration messaging, and give you trauma-informed tools to protect your mind and your community.”
🌿 SPOTTING GASLIGHTING — PERSONAL & PUBLIC
A MissGuided Adventures Guide by Kris Neilson
🚨 Red Flags of Gaslighting
Use this section when something feels “off.”
If several of these show up — whether in a relationship, workplace, or political message — you may be witnessing manipulation.
✅ Denial of the Obvious
They flat-out reject something that’s clearly true (“That never happened,” “Everyone agrees with me,” “You’re making it up”).
✅ Twisting or Rewriting Reality
They retell events to make themselves right and you wrong — even when you have evidence.
✅ Blame-Shifting
They flip responsibility, making you feel guilty for their behavior (“You made me do it,” “If you hadn’t…”).
✅ Repetition of Lies
They repeat misinformation until it feels true. In politics, this can look like repeating disproven claims so the public starts doubting facts.
✅ Attacking Credible Sources
They call truth-tellers “fake,” “biased,” or “enemies” to undermine trust in facts.
✅ Creating Chaos and Confusion
They flood the space with so many contradictions that you lose track of what’s real — and eventually give up questioning.
✅ Emotional Manipulation
They use anger, charm, ridicule, or fear to control reactions and keep others off balance.
🌱 STAYING GROUNDED IN REALITY
Practical ways to protect your peace and perception
🪵 1. Anchor in Facts
Write down what you saw, heard, or felt before it’s challenged. Date entries. Facts fade fast when memory gets gaslit.
🪞 2. Trust Your Body
Confusion, tightness, or dread often signal manipulation. Your body senses distortion before your mind names it.
🪶 3. Verify With Trusted Sources
Use fact-based journalism, evidence-based research, or a therapist — not social media noise — to reality-check what you hear.
💬 4. Share and Compare
Talk with grounded people. Saying “This doesn’t feel right” out loud breaks the isolation gaslighting thrives on.
🧘 5. Limit Exposure
Take breaks from toxic conversations, social feeds, or nonstop news cycles. Information overload is a control tactic.
🪨 6. Grayrock When Necessary
With chronic manipulators: respond neutrally, briefly, without emotion. Give them nothing to feed on.
🚪 7. Set Boundaries & Exit When Possible
You don’t owe endless debate or explanation. Protect your energy; distance is a form of self-respect.
🌻 8. Reconnect to Meaning
Read, walk, meditate, garden, pray — do whatever reminds you that truth, beauty, and connection still exist outside the noise.
🕊️ 9. Seek Trauma-Informed Support
If political or relational gaslighting reopens old wounds, work with a therapist familiar with CPTSD and narcissistic abuse recovery. Healing is power.
💬 Remember
“Gaslighting makes you question what’s real. Healing helps you trust yourself again.” — MissGuided Adventures
What is Meritocracy, and what is DEI? We're led to believe they're opposites, but together they can create a better world experience for everyone.
The terms misguide us.
I chose to do this podcast because words and terms are weaponized and abused by people who want you to believe something other than the truth.
I was misguided this way my whole life and I'm not alone. Many people are victims of gaslighting, manipulation, emotional abuse, and resulting trauma.
I'm here to guide you and make sure you take the time to learn the terms and words that guide and misguide us.
Choose your north star, your guiding words.
Stay aware, stay curious, and don't be misguided.
There are no credible examples of white supremacy ever being a positive contribution to society — in fact, historians and scholars are clear that it has caused enormous harm (slavery, genocide, systemic racism, segregation, hate crimes, etc.). White supremacy doesn’t build up society, it tears it down. It doesn’t create safety, it spreads violence. It doesn’t protect freedom, it strips it away.
"White supremacy" is misleading, it gives the illusion that whites are or were ever supreme.
That misguides us into thinking we have some rights that are supreme to others.
What to watch for and listen for in our communities.
Stay awake, stay aware, stay curious, and please don't be misguided.
(Excuse the audio quality, I had some microphone and background challenges today!)
Christian Nationalism is not Christianity.
It’s a political ideology dressed up in religious clothing. It fuses a narrow, rigid version of Christianity with American nationalism, claiming this country was founded to be a Christian nation. But that’s a lie. The Founders wroteseparation of church and state into our Constitution for a reason—because they knew what happens when governments try to impose religion.
This is not Christianity—it’s idolatry. It’sworship of power, not God.
Join me as I explain its danger to our communities and our country.
Stay awake, stay aware, stay curious, and don't be misled by misguiding words!
Are the words democracy and theocracy blending together for you? That's the plan.
A theocracy is a system of government in which religious leaders or religious law control the state. In a theocracy, the separation between church and state doesn’t exist—laws are based on religious doctrine, not on the shared values of a diverse people.
Project 2025 is a playbook put together by the Heritage Foundation, laying out a plan to reshape the U.S. government. It’s not just about trimming bureaucracy or reorganizing departments—it’s about consolidatingexecutive power, rolling back rights, and imposing a rigid, ideological vision of America. Much of it is rooted in a specific brand of conservative Christian nationalism.
Stay aware, stay curious and stay tuned!
Let's get into THEOCRACY a little more!
MissGuided Adventures helps you start understanding words or, in this case, an entire 900+ page document.
Project 2025 is overwhelming to read, but the impact of it will be even more overwhelming if you don't take the time to learn about it.
Learn about how it will affect you so you can prepare, and you can stand up and speak out.
With every Executive Order and the Big "Beautiful" Bill, its plans have been, since January 20th, to gut our federal government and establish an authoritarian theocracy. It will eliminate checks and balances and leave the President with far more power than one person should have.
This is a brief starting point for you to learn more.
I recommend you to look it up and write it down. Grab a journal or paper & pen. Each episode will be about a word or a phrase.
Stay aware, stay curious, and don't be misguided!
Starting out laying the groundwork for how words have misguided me, a definition and explanation of CPTSD.
Each episode we'll explore how words can guide or misguide us. We are bombarded with words that mislead us, we misunderstand, misinterpret, and because of it we make mistakes.
Short episodes to help us get to know the meanings of words a little better and how and why they can easily misguide us.
Grab a journal, paper & pen, a dictionary and let's look it up and write it down!
A New Direction! My podcast will follow me on small adventures to talk about words and how they guide, and often MissGuide us! Free speech was something I had to earn and it came with an emotional cost. From having safety in silence to speaking freely, this is a safe space!
Come along on my adventures and navigate words!
SPEAK UP! Silence is Compliance and I am tired of hearing my retired, white male friends saying they haven't done anything about what is going on in our country.
Our voices need to be heard because
WE, are THE PEOPLE.
"WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE" and ILLUSORY TRUTH EFFECT
We start believing in false information simply because we’ve heard it repeatedly. Even if something is incorrect, frequent exposure makes it feel familiar and, therefore, more credible. It may not be intentional, but repetition forms a cognitive bias. Our beliefs are not always based on fact.
SO is "WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE" misinformation or disinformation?
Probably some of both. Should that worry us? YES.
WORDS MATTER. Meanings Matter and Truth Matters.
How we can practice using the words of Metta - loving kindness, compassion, generosity, and connection to elevate our emotions, our thoughts, beliefs and feelings about the world and people around us.
Metta - a practice to get us through and to overcome.
Resistance! Others want to control us and we can resist their control by starting with the words that elevate us above their control. Resistance begins within.
Does it feel like everyone is talking and no one is listening? On today's episode I talk about Bernie Sanders and Stephen Covey and the importance of listening, in silence, to understand the words of others.
Understanding others and amplifying their voices.
Are you an escalator or an elevator? Recall the infamous ride Trump took down the escalator? That's what he is, an escalator and he takes people down the slippery slope of negativity with him.
Words matter and which we use and how we use them matters. Things are tough and words and emotions are escalated! Meanwhile we have people all around us who need to be elevated. We need to life them up.
Let's elevate, not escalate!
How to write the most important love letters you may ever write. Coming from a single woman with no romantic partner, and no I'm not a stalker! But I figured out that writing love letters every day has changed my life. And it only takes two letters to do it!
You use 80% of your heart for hate. Hate is already in our heart. It takes up space without even trying. But Love requires more energy to fill up our heart. Love has to work harder to find that space and keep it. Love takes focus, time, energy, commitment, and practice.
The WORDS we choose to use are a compass, they guide us in the direction we want to go.
How we use WORDS MATTERS.
Whether it's the ones we say, read, write, or listen to, WORDS MATTER.
All others, are just WORDSMATTER
When’s the last time you wrote a handwritten letter? It only takes one letter to create a word, but it takes many words to create a letter. On today's episode I talk about the power of words and the most important letter I've written lately.
Words are like a compass; they can guide you down the right path or misguide you through a messy life journey.
The power of the written word, THE MISSIVE, is the title for today’s episode and THE THEME FOR THE YEAR! Starting off 2025 with some changes to the format and direction to guide the power of words wisely.
As your WORD GUIDE, adventures are going to be with words. I’ll bring the compass to provide direction, and you just need to bring something to write with and something to write on!