Abuse can come in a variety of forms and every person out there has a different tolerance for it. Physical abuse leaves you with pain and scars which can be clearly felt and sighted.
But what happens when you’re a victim of an even worse type, the emotional abuse?
As opposed to physical abuse which includes a physical contact, emotional abuse is carried by a variety of methods, such as words, a certain toxic behavior or harmful actions.
When you are a part of an emotionally abusive relationship, you might not realize it at first, up until that very moment when your instincts start to tell you the ugly truth. You become aware they try to control you and chip away your last bit of confidence by blaming, accusing and making you feel worthless.
If you experience some of these symptoms, it’s most likely you’re a victim of an emotionally abusive relationship:
1. You feel like nothing
As a consequence of the constant humiliation and downgrading, you end up feeling like you’re no good to anyone. They keep making you feel useless and convince you that they’re doing you the favor by staying with you because no one else would want you.
2. Your partner is constantly accusing and blaming you
They accuse you of flirting or being interested in another person without having a reasonable cause. Whatever the problem is, they project the responsibility and guilt to your side by usually stating the “Look what you did!”, “What’s wrong with you?”? These types of behavior are often the excuse to begin physical violence.
3. They punish you by withholding
You feel more and more alienated from your partner. They refuse to listen to you, and never stop giving you the “silent treatment”. They withhold all of the information, every affection and feelings just so they can have the ultimate control over you.
4. They draw away the attention from an important issue and refuse to discuss it
They refuse to discuss an important issue or constantly interrupt you when you talk to them. They treat you like your opinion isn’t worth a dime. You talk but they twist your words and lead the conversation out of context and in their favor. This is a serious sign that you’re a part of an emotionally abusive relationship.
5. They have absolute control over you
They insist to know everywhere you go, they even forbid you to go out and take all your belongings leaving you begging for mercy. Whether it’s your income or your freedom of choice, you end up having nothing.
They yell at you until you explain every situation that occurred to you, and even then, it’s most likely your answer will be taken for granted.
6. Your partner never stops criticizing and judging you
They act like they’re never satisfied with you, and treat you like a disappointment. If your partner is always on the move to criticize you and refers to it as a “constructive criticism”, better watch out. This can only develop into an even more severe situation where you’ll be the first person to blame.
7. Their needs are always the top priority
Your partner acts like they’re always in charge and it seems like you have no say in anything. They justify their actions by blaming you and verbally attacking you.
The goal of an abusive person is to weaken you, just, so they can be the one who holds the power.
At the end, you’re left with no choice than putting them first, so you fall into the trap and start doing everything they order you.
8. They deny your experience of their abuse
They are absolutely inconsiderate of your feelings. In fact, these toxic people have zero empathy inside their heart. They deny your pain and your experience of their harmful demeanor.
They keep convincing you that you’re imagining stuff and it’s all in your head while they successfully manage to disfigure the truth even worse and prolong your suffering.
9. They prohibit your friendships
They cut you off from your friends and family in order to leave you more vulnerable, therefore more suitable for them to continue their abusement towards you.
10. They threaten you
If you keep getting threats from them about harming you in any possible way if you “misbehave” and don’t follow their “rules”, you need to find to develop a strategy to get out of this relationship. And the quicker, the better. Otherwise, you can fall victim to a more severe consequence.
If these signs of emotionally abusive relationship applied to you in any way, you need to get to the root of the problem by asking yourself any of these questions:
– Does it feel like I’m in Hell with them?
– Does my partner always hold me responsible for everything?
– Does my partner always criticize me for everything that I do?
If the answer is yes, then I advise you to search for the cause of this serious issue and try solving it as soon as possible. You don’t need to go through this alone, and you should never be ashamed to ask for a professional help.
Image: @chibelek
A professional writer with many years of experience in the fields of psychology, human relationships, science, and spirituality. If you have a general question or comment please fill out the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible https://curiousmindmagazine.com/contact-us/
