When I first encountered toxic written communication, I didn’t know what I was dealing with. The documents I received were confusing, disjointed, and filled with irrelevant details. 107 pages for “statement of facts” and over 500 emails over 9 years. They left me frustrated and questioning myself. Over time, I discovered that this tactic has a name: word salad.
What Word Salad Really Is
Word salad is more than just messy writing. It’s a deliberate technique used by toxic individuals to manipulate, confuse, and provoke. Instead of clarity, they create chaos. Instead of addressing real issues, they bury them under incoherence and misdirection.
From my experience, word salad often shows up in four ways:
- Incoherence: Sentences that don’t connect, irrelevant details, and unnecessary labels.
- Deflection: Avoiding direct questions and shifting blame.
- Personal attacks: Insults and derogatory language aimed at undermining credibility.
- Gaslighting: Distorting facts, denying events, or trivializing valid concerns.
My Personal Journey
I lived through this tactic during a smear campaign over 9 years. I was accused of fabricating PTSD, called racist, and subjected to endless distortions of reality.
They created 7 websites where they doxxed my personal life online. They acted like mind-readers, thinking they knew me personally. At first, I felt overwhelmed. But as I learned to recognize these patterns, I began to reclaim my power.
I realized that toxic individuals thrive on confusion. They want you to doubt yourself, to get lost in their endless diversions. Recognizing this gave me the strength to resist.
How I Learned to Cope
Here are the strategies that helped me navigate toxic word salad:
- Stay focused: I remind myself of the real issue; they caused their own eviction, and I refuse to be distracted.
- Maintain clarity: I have learned to keep my communication concise and rational. I look at facts, not my emotions.
- Seek clarification: When statements are unclear, I ask for explanations—even if I don’t get them.
- Document everything: I preserve written exchanges as evidence. I have tons of documents I received and found online from this experience.
- Seek support: Therapy and trusted colleagues gave me tools to cope and perspective to heal.
Final Thoughts
Word salad can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to control you.
I want you to know that you are stronger than the confusion others try to create. Every time you choose clarity over chaos, you reclaim your voice. Every time you document the truth, you protect your integrity. And every time you seek support, you prove that you are not alone.
Healing takes time, but you are worth every step of the journey. Stand tall, trust yourself, and remember: your truth will always shine brighter than their word salad.
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“They” try and trick me with confusion … excellent and informative! Word salad is a perfect description, and I appreciate the post! That being said, I wish you the best Thanksgiving ever and theirs lumpy mashed potatoes (lol) … actually, been meaning to ask you? Have you had any interaction (hope not)?
Thank you for your comment! I am glad this post helped you. I hope all is good in your World!
Once you learn to recognize word salad from others around you, you can see it more clearly.
No, no contact, thankfully. Nothing online either since July 2025 when they lost control over stellareddy.com, so I have been relaxing a bit.
You can’t doxx someone as I was in website content, Hosting companies have added policies not allowing it in recent years. So, unless they want to pay for free speech hosting as they did before, they can’t write about me online as easy as they once did.
Nothing lasts forever and things do change, sometimes even in the right direction! I live in hope that they finally decided to move on and leave me alone!