I was writing a post about how to deal with abuse, but, first, I consider more important to identify what youâre going through. So hereâs a post. Iâm sorry for the bad English and possible mistakes, itâs not my native language.
Emotional abuse tends to revolve around an imbalance of power, where at least one person in the relationship tries to exercise psychological control over the other person.
Gaslighting- It is a form of psychological abuse that happens when the information is distorted, selectively omitted to manage the control to the abuser, or simply invented with intent to cause the victim to doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity. The therm âgaslightingâ came from a movie that tells the story of a man that manipulated his wife every time she used to say the houseâs lights were slowly disappearing. What she was saying was true, but her husband just lied to her and put in her head that she was seeing or imagining things. Slowly, it messed with her sanity.
Humiliating or cursing- Thatâs a clearer expression of emotional abuse, but sometimes it stays hidden and indiscreet. Sometime in a relationship between two people (romantic partners/child and parent/friends) it is common to have fights and thatâs totally okay, but some people go beyond a limit of disrespect. Constantly cursing and affecting someoneâs self esteem is a form of abuse. A lot of adolescents who suffer from this kind of expression of emotional abuse relate they donât know if their experiences are valid, cause the insults envolve things like âyouâre worthlessâ âyou donât do anything goodâ and even âI wish you didnât existâ, which is confusing for them, cause âmaybe itâs just something normal in a relationship between child and parentâ. But itâs not okay.
Taking away the freedom of belief- A form of emotional abuse thatâs not very discussed, but happens a lot. The abuser in a relationship can control the victim and threaten them to follow a certain religion. The abused person must practice the religion they donât even believe to please the abuser, otherwise psychological or physical punishments may happen. Also, the judgment against the atheism is still strong in the whole world, causing discrimination and abuse in some families or groups.
Control and oppression- The thing that most count in this expression of emotional abuse is the obsessive behavior from the abuser to the victim. The abuser can threaten the victim, making them staying home and avoiding going out, looking for private messages on the other personâs phone, isolate the victim from their family and controlling personal decisions of their life.
Guilt trip- A manipulation tactic: making someone feel guilty so that guilt acts as an incentive to think or behave a way they normally wouldnât. Often involves the manipulator acting victimised or making grand gestures to create emotional debt.
Exposition- It happens when the abuser shares personal pictures or messages of their victim to other people. Basically, what is private turns out to be public.
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact
Throwing objects, holding arms or shaking the victim- Usually, physical abuse is noticed when someone hits the victim, reaching out a strong level of aggression, but it doesnât have to go through that tension to be considered a type of physical abuse. Some abusers throw objects, hold the victimâs arms tightly so they canât move or shake them, in the intention to hurt them.
Burning parts of the victimâs body
Making the victim stay away from meds or treatment they need
Kicking, punching, strangling
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is usually undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another.
Forcing uncomfortable sexual acts- Sexual abuse doesnât count as only forcing sex. Forcing someone to engage in sexual acts that cause discomfort or disgust, such as fetishes, is also violence. The abuser can put their hands on the victimâs body without permission, say sexual things making the victim uncomfortable or even making sexual acts in front of the victim without any permission.
Preventing a woman from preventing pregnancy or forcing her to have an abortion- The act of preventing a woman from using contraceptive methods, such as the morning-after pill or contraceptive, is considered a practice of sexual violence. Likewise, forcing a woman to have an abortion is another form of abuse.
Itâs any conduct that entails retention, subtraction, partial or total destruction of the victimâs objects, instruments of labor, personal documents or values and economic rights or resources.
Controlling the money or retaining documents- A person has the right to live a healthy life, including the access to their necessities, such as food and the leisure. Once someone controls and avoids someone from it, thatâs patrimonial abuse. Hiding the victimâs money or neglecting them on financial resources, hiding documents and threaten them with it is a form of violence.
Breaking the victimâs objects- It is a form of patrimonial abuse to break and destroy personal objects that are not yours.
If you think youâre suffering from abuse, please look for help. Soon Iâll be posting something about how to deal with abuse.