Emotional abuse
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Emotional abuse refers to a long-term situation in which one person uses his or her power or influence to adversely affect the mental well-being of another. Emotional abuse can appear in a variety of forms, including rejection, degradation, isolation, corruption, exploitation, and invoking terror.
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[edit] Emotional abuse indicators
Emotional abuse can be difficult to observe when it is perpetrated in the privacy of someone else's home, or in a closed institution. However, personal awareness and understanding of the issue is key to recognizing it. The following is a list of possible indicators of emotional abuse:
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- depression
- withdrawal
- low self-esteem
- severe anxiety
- failure to establish a mutually acceptable manner in which to manage differences
- fearfulness
- failure to thrive in infancy
- aggression
- emotional instability
- sleep disturbances
- physical complaints with no medical basis
- inappropriate behaviour for age or development
- overly passive/compliant
- suicide attempts or discussion
- extreme dependence
- underachievement
- inability to trust
- stealing
- feelings of shame and guilt
- Self-injury or Self-harm
- frequent crying
- self-blame or self-deprecation
- delay or refusal of medical treatment
- discomfort or nervousness around carer or relative
- avoidance of eye contact
- problems in school or work that manifest into the need to cease activities
- eating disorders
[edit] Checklist
The following lists indicators that you can use to gauge whether you are being subjected to emotional abuse (adapted from [1]):
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- You understand their feelings, but they never attempt to understand yours
- They dismiss your difficulties or issues as unimportant or an overreaction
- Your feelings are consistently invalidated
- They do not listen to you
- They put their needs before yours
- They expect you to perform tasks that you find unpleasant or humiliating
- You "walk on eggshells" in an effort not to upset them
- They ignore logic and prefer histrionics in order to remain the center of attention
- They manipulate you into feeling guilty for things that have nothing to do with you
- They attempt to destroy any outside support you receive by belittling that support in an effort to retain exclusive control over your emotions
- They do not take responsibility for hurting others
- They blame other people and circumstances for any unfortunate events in their lives
- They perceive themselves as martyrs or victims and constantly expect preferential treatment
- Maltreatment occurs especially when they are unhappy with your behavior
- They love you and treat you like a prince(ss) when they are happy with your behavior
- They aren't happy with your behavior very often
- They compare you negatively to others
- They seem to treat other people kindly, and you're the only one that seems to be yelled at by them'
[edit] See also
- Child abuse
- Domestic violence
- Psychological abuse
- Relationship counseling
- Parental Alienation Syndrome
- Medea complex
[edit] External links
- You Carry the Cure in Your Own Heart by Andrew Vachss, article that discusses the effects of emotional abuse of children and steps for the now-adult victim to take, to heal from their emotionally abusive past.
- http://www.thisisawar.com/AbuseEmotional.htm
- http://eqi.org/eabuse1.htm
- The Emotional Abuse Checklist
