What is Emotional Abuse and How to Cope?
Emotional abuse is an insidious type of mistreatment that is often overlooked. Victims of emotional abuse can experience even more prolonged and debilitating effects as a result of victimization.
What is Emotional Abuse?
Emotional abuse occurs when one person in a relationship controls the other through verbal assault, humiliation, and other mistreatments that don’t leave physical scars but are equally destructive. On the surface, an emotionally abusive relationship may look good. Your partner is there for you. They say they love you. But behind closed doors, they use language and actions to control you and keep you from experiencing your full potential as a person. Emotional abuse happens when someone regularly says or does things to make you feel bad about yourself. It is a form of mental abuse in which the abuser uses words to manipulate and control their partner. Emotional abuse is a systematic attempt to destroy another person’s sense of self-worth and ability to cope with daily life. It can lead to long-term psychological damage that is as severe as that caused by physical abuse.
How to Recognize Emotional Abuse
If you are in an emotionally abusive relationship, you will recognize it by the frequency and intensity of these seven signs:
– You are constantly criticized;
– You feel like you can’t do anything right;
– You always feel like you’re walking on eggshells;
– You have to walk on eggshells around your partner;
– You have to account for every minute of your time;
– You feel like you have to walk on eggshells around your children;
– You have trouble sleeping and/or experiencing nightmares;
If you can check more than a couple of these signs, you’re in an emotionally abusive relationship.
3 Strategies for Coping With Emotional Abuse
- Recognize and acknowledge the abuse. First and foremost, you must recognize and acknowledge that you are in an emotionally abusive relationship. Until you come to this realization, you are trapped in a situation that you may not be able to get out of.
- Learn about emotional abuse and its effects. Once you recognize that you’re in an emotionally abusive relationship, you must research emotional abuse and its effects. Knowledge is power, and without it, you may not be able to fully understand what’s happening.
- Find emotional support. Once you have a better understanding of emotional abuse and its effects, you must find emotional support. This can be done online, through emotional support groups in your area, or in therapy. It’s important that you have someone to talk to about what’s happening to you, and emotional support can help you to cope with the effects of emotional abuse. Meditate and do exercises for emotional abuse recovery in the Sensera app;
Emotional abuse is an insidious type of mistreatment that is often overlooked. While physical and sexual abuse is more widely discussed, victims of emotional abuse can experience even more prolonged and debilitating effects as a result of victimization. If you’re reading this, either you or someone you love has been victimized by emotional abuse and needs help moving forward. The good news is that there is help for victims of emotional abuse and it’s never too late to get the support you need to move forward in your life.
This article is written by a therapist from the Sensera app. Sensera app is the #1 mental health app for women. Deal with mental issues in 10 minutes a day. Improve your mood and relationships. Download now to get happy!
