Fight Emotional Abuse

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Emotional abuse is very real and in many cases the damages are much longer lasting and more devastating than physical abuse. Like me, many do not realize what is happening until it is too late.  It has been a long and hard journey and it is still a battle, but.......

Today, I know I deserve to be loved and acknowledge for who I am. I am amazing! 

 If you say yes to more than 3 of these possible indicators of emotional abuse and neglect, please get some counseling and look to possibly getting out of your current relationship.

 Possible Indicators of Emotional Abuse and Neglect 
• depression 
• withdrawal 
 • low self-esteem
 • severe anxiety 
• fearfulness 
• feelings of shame and guilt 
• frequent crying 
• self-blame/self-depreciation
 • overly passive/compliant 
• social isolation 
• substance abuse 
• delay or refusal of medical treatment 
• discomfort or nervousness 
• avoidance of eye contact 
• suicide attempts or discussion 
• other forms of abuse present or suspected 

What is Emotional Abuse? 
There is no universally accepted definition of emotional abuse. Like other forms of violence in relationships, emotional abuse is based on power and control. The following are widely recognized as forms of emotional abuse: Rejecting - refusing to acknowledge a person's presence, value, or worth; communicating to a person that she or he is useless or inferior; devaluing her/his thoughts and feelings. Degrading - insulting, ridiculing, name calling, and imitating; behavior which diminishes the identity, dignity, and self-worth of the person. Examples: yelling, swearing, publicly humiliating or labeling a person as stupid; mimicking a person's disability; treating a person as if she or he cannot make decisions. Terrorizing - inducing terror or extreme fear in a person; coercing by intimidation; placing or threatening to place a person in an unfit or dangerous environment. Examples: threatening to leave, physically hurt or kill a person, pets or people she/he cares about; threatening to destroy a person's possessions; threatening to have a person deported or put in an institution; stalking. Isolating - physical confinement; restricting normal contact with others; limiting freedom within a person's own environment. Examples: excluding a person from participating in decisions about her or his own life; locking a person in a closet or room alone; refusing a female partner or senior access to her or his own money and financial affairs; withholding contact with grandchildren; depriving a person of mobility aids or transportation. Corrupting/Exploiting - socializing a person into accepting ideas or behavior which oppose legal standards; and using a person for advantage or profit. Denying Emotional Responsiveness - failing to provide care in a sensitive and responsive manner; being detached and uninvolved; interacting only when necessary; ignoring a person's mental health needs. • Emotional abuse accompanies other forms of abuse, but also may occur on its own. • No abuse -- neglect, physical, sexual or financial -- can occur without psychological consequences. Therefore, all abuse contains elements of emotional abuse. • Emotional abuse follows a pattern; it is repeated and sustained. If left unchecked, abuse does not get better over time. It only gets worse. • Like other forms of violence in relationships, those who hold the least power and resources in society, for example, women and children, are most often emotionally abused. • Emotional abuse can severely damage a person's sense of self-worth and perception.