Paid a High cost for love

When people think of abuse, it tends to be something physical that leaves visible marks. Yet, emotional abuse leaves invisible wounds that are just as damaging. While abuse can happen to anyone, no one deserves to be abused for any reason. Learn more about the signs and effects of emotional abuse, leaving an abusive relationship, and how to begin healing.

Defining Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse, sometimes called psychological abuse, is a pattern of behaviors where one person subjects another person to nonphysical acts that harm another person's overall ability to function and their mental well-being.1 These relationships can happen between romantic partners, a parent and child, caretaker and dependent, teacher and student, close friends, or within a professional setting.

While researchers have slightly different definitions of the concept, they have identified a variety of types of emotional abuse, including:

• Verbal abuse
• Intimidations and terrorization
• Humiliation and degradation
• Exploitation
• Harassment
• Rejection and withholding of affection
• Isolation
• Excessive control

These types of emotionally abusive behaviors are meant to control and frighten you. While they are nonphysical, they are just as serious. Emotional abuse can be damaging and traumatizing to the person experiencing the abuse.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Some signs of emotional abuse are obvious, like yelling or name-calling. Other signs are more subtle, such as the other person not wanting you to hang out with friends, or acting extremely jealous. Here are some red flags that signal another person is emotionally abusing you:

• Name-calling, demeaning, humiliating, shaming, and criticizing you in private or public
• Controlling and being possessive of you, your time, and actions, including what you wear, your job, and whom you hang out with
• Making you feel silly and dumb and dismissing how you really feel
• Questioning what you say and things that you say happened to you (called gaslighting)
• Acting extremely jealous of the time you spend with friends and family
• Punishing you by withholding attention or affection
• Threatening you and people you love, or threatening to hurt themselves to get what they want
• Wanting you to ask their permission before doing anything or going anywhere
• Monitoring where you go and what you're doing at all times
• Constantly accusing or blaming you for their abusive behavior and making you feel guilty
• Overloading you with compliments or gifts in order to manipulate you later

Experiencing any of these behaviors repeatedly over time instills self-doubt and worthlessness in a person. This wearing down of confidence and self-worth is how the abuser controls and holds power in the relationship.

 

Reference: https://www.verywellhealth.com/