Kouri Richins & Gaslighting: How Abusers Make You Doubt Reality | Surviving the Fog Part 2
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 908 Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How did Eric Richins miss millions in debt allegedly piling up in his own marriage?
The same way thousands of people miss it every day: the fog.
This is Part 2 of "Surviving the Fog"—examining coercive control psychology through the Kouri Richins case. We're not diagnosing anyone. We're exploring patterns documented in abuse research.
Gaslighting isn't casual lying. It's sustained psychological warfare designed to make you doubt your own mind. They deny what happened with absolute confidence. They attack your credibility. They reverse victim and offender until you're apologizing for bringing up something real.
DARVO is the playbook: Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim and Offender.
The fog is also exhaustion. Constant crisis that keeps you reactive instead of reflective. Every time you start to see clearly, a new emergency appears. That's not coincidence—it's strategy.
Cognitive dissonance keeps you trapped. Your brain can't hold "I love this person" and "this person is destroying me" at the same time. So it rejects the truth to protect you from a reality that would shatter everything.
The confusion is the tool. If you're constantly off-balance, you won't leave. You won't tell anyone. You won't act.
You're not crazy. You're being made to feel crazy.
Kouri Richins is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#KouriRichins #HiddenKillers #Gaslighting #SurvivingTheFog #DARVO #NarcissisticAbuse #EricRichins #CoerciveControl #PsychologicalAbuse #TrueCrime
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. |
| 0:04.8 | Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable |
| 0:10.4 | themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. |
| 0:14.7 | Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online, |
| 0:20.1 | in person and on the go. Shopify is made for |
| 0:22.8 | entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. |
| 0:28.6 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them, |
| 0:34.6 | join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, |
| 0:39.3 | featuring in-depth sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. |
| 0:44.3 | With just 200 attendees, you'll also share breakfast and lunch with the speakers, giving you |
| 0:48.3 | the chance to spend time with the people shaping the world of true crime. |
| 0:52.3 | Crimecom Birmingham is partnered by the True Crime Channel. |
| 0:55.1 | For 10% off, go to crimecon.com.com.com.com and use the code Birmingham at checkout. |
| 1:00.4 | Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. |
| 1:05.2 | Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business |
| 1:09.3 | with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, |
| 1:12.8 | marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you |
| 1:17.3 | time from startups to scale ups, online, in person and on the go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs |
| 1:23.7 | like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. |
| 1:30.5 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them, |
| 1:35.1 | join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, featuring in-depth |
| 1:40.4 | sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from True Crime Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of True Crime Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.