So what is emotional abuse?
One definition of emotional abuse is: "any act including confinement, isolation, verbal assault, humiliation, intimidation, infantilization, or any other treatment which may diminish the sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth and self esteem of an individual .
Emotional abusers have the same signs and symptoms as a physical abuser, just without the physical harm or attacks. Their tactic is to tug at your emotions to make you feel weak, vulnerable, worthless, thus gaining power and control.
If you are in an emotionally abusive relationship, be it spouse or family members, seek counselling. Parents also be cognizant of emotionally abusing your kids as this stays with them and sometimes the feelings are repressed, later causing just as much damage as a rape or trauma victim.
Some common signs to look out for to know if you`re being emotionally abused are:
. They tend to have very low self-esteem, especially persons who use to have high confidence
. They tend to have a lot of mood swings, personality changes, unsure of their emotions, become isolated from friends, loved ones, family, etc
. They become depressed, suffer from anxiety, and are sometimes suicidal.
Some people already naturally have low self esteem and to be emotionally abused can be devastating. How does one even begin to deal with this? Because this can lead to depression.
ReplyDeleteLow self esteem is not natural. It always stems from somewhere. Sometimes it starts from the early stages of development through childhood. This is why i mentioned parents. What some parents fail to realize is that simple things such as calling your kid "big head" or "stupid" can foster low self esteem. Let me give an example : You keep calling your toddler these nicknames, then when he starts school kids may make fun of him and joke around about his head being big. The kid now starts to feel ashamed as he thinks he`s abnormal or not as handsome as the other kids, thats why they make fun of him. Your kid then grows with this in the back of his mind, always being partially ashamed of the size of his head, thus fostering a low self esteem within that kid, that if not addressed will just get worse as the child gets older, and can lead to depression yes.
DeleteWow!..... We trinis are such emotional abusers & we don't even know it! Often persons trample on another's self worth & self esteem through verbal abuse & humiliation tactics. We've all either been victims or perpetrators ourselves. I'm glad you choose to highlight this form of abuse because i think we are numb to the harmful effects it can really cause on a person.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!
DeleteYes, i myself have been a victim of emotional abuse. So i understand the effects both from a psychological perspective as well as individually.
ReplyDeleteI recently came out of a very emotionally abusive relationship and the recovery process is a though one. Highlighting such topics is comforting as well as hard because of the reflection that comes long with it. Great read!!
ReplyDeleteYes it is difficult as certain stimuli would bring back the memories but keep reminding yourself that you were strong enough to get out, so that in itself is a motivator
DeleteEmotional abuse is something we face daily. Our society makes everything into a joke. We say things to people not thinking about the impact it might have on them. We fall short in something, we're told the most belittled things. Our significant other does something to upset you and lash out at them. Words hurt and it drives people to do things they might regret. Talk to people with respect no matter the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. This topic was one i personally chose as it is a major issue, yet still we ignore it. And little do we realise the impact it has on us, and how simple things are what causes it. So i hope the information causes persons to do some introspection
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