Abuse is when someone mistreats or harms another person or something in order to benefit from it in any way. Emotional abuse is invisible, can be difficult to identify, and can take place in any kind of human relationship.
- Disrespect
- Comparison
- dismissal or trivialization of feelings or interests, initiations
- Controlling you
- Humiliating or insulting you
- Mistreatment
- They play mind games and psychological tricks on you.
- invalidate you and your choices.
- I blame you for everything.
- Ignore or avoid you
- Use sarcasm
- They don’t own up to anything they have done.
Symptoms or consequences of emotional abuse
- Lack of self-worth
- Depression, stress, and anxiety
- Low self-esteem and hopelessness
- Guilt and shame
- Self-isolation
- Physical symptoms such as body aches, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, exhaustion, and restlessness
- Insomnia
- Eating disorders
While all of these symptoms might be seen in children who are being emotionally abused, there are a couple more symptoms visible in children as well, such as
- Behavioural issues
- Substance abuse
- Risky sexual behaviour
The signs and symptoms are the most common but not the only ones that determine emotional abuse. To know more, talk to a mental health professional.
Signs of healthy relationships
- You have your rights as a human being.
- You are respected.
- There are healthy boundaries.
- They make requests, not demands.
- You feel safe and secure with the person.
- You have your freedom.
- You are not being compared or ignored.
- Healthy communication
- commitment to you and the relationship
Coping with emotional abuse
- Recognize and acknowledge the abuse.
- Don’t blame yourself.
- Love yourself and focus on yourself.
- Establish healthy boundaries and be assertive.
- Don’t try to fix them; each person is responsible for themselves. Only they can change themselves, and they’ll do it only if they have the desire or will to do it, so just focus on yourself and how you can handle the situation.
- Be assertive
- Make a safety plan, have a place to go to, or get support from someone who can help.
- Try to establish a social support system.
- Finally, the process of healing and, in certain situations, leaving an emotionally abusive relationship can be very difficult. You don’t have to go through it alone, and friends and family might not be enough at times, so take the help of mental health professionals to heal and grow as an individual.