Emotional Abuse - The Rearranging of One's Mind
This is an article for all of my parents. It is for the Domestic Violence Event here at Suite101.com in an attempt to bring more attention to Domestic Violence Awareness Month going on for the month of October. This has honestly been the most gut wrenching article I have ever written. If you are being emotionally, verbally or psychologically abused I hope that you will find help. If you know someone who is being abused and are looking for help for them I am sure you will find wonderful resources through this event.
Emotional abuse is one type of abuse that can truly scar your mind and soul forever if you allow it too. It is the one abuse that leaves all of its scars on the inside where they are not visible to the people around you. If you are physically abused or sexually abused the physical hurts heal. The emotional abuse that you endure from these abuses are what is left behind to deal with. I hope that you will find helpful resources from the links that I am including for this article.
Emotional abuse comes in many different forms. It can be subtle and hard for others to see. It is a systematic way for an abuser to control their victim. Verbal/Emotional abuse can be both passive and active. Passive abuse would be along the lines of neglect or intentionally withholding love and affection or praise for things that are well done. Active abuse is deliberate humiliation and belittling to hurt feelings and destroy self-worth and self-respect . Either form is just as horrendous. It can also be constant or occasional. It doesn't matter if it is occasional it is still abuse.
If you are being emotionally abused but think you are doing a good job of hiding it from your kids, think again. If your children are very young they may not understand what is actually going on, but as they grow they will eventually know what emotional abuse is. They will live it too. They will eventually suffer from this abuse even if they are not direct recipients of it. It appears that emotional abusers will often begin to abuse their own children at some point. The scars of a child who has been emotionally abused are long suffering and can lead to permanant imparement. If you are living with a spouse or intimate partner who is systematically breaking you down by emotional abuse, your children will be affected. The potential for scars on your children's lives is incredibly high. Emotional abuse prepares and conditions a child to expect abuse in their adult lives. This can lead to physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and verbal abuse for your child as an adult and has just as much potential to lead to the same for their children. Emotional abuse if often a repeated behavior.
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