Is Emotional Abuse Considered Domestic Violence?
When you think about domestic violence, you likely think of bruises and physical abuse. It’s hard to think of it as anything else. In reality, domestic violence covers various types of abuse, including mental or emotional abuse. There doesn’t need to be physical interaction between an abuser and their victim to be considered domestic violence.
Emotional abuse is just as harmful and as serious as physical abuse. It’s essential to fully understand what emotional abuse is to realize that it is domestic violence and be able to seek the help you need to get out.
What is Emotional Abuse?
There are a lot of signs that many people are familiar with when it comes to abuse and manipulation. When you’re in an abusive situation, it’s easy to miss the early and subtle signs that begin to slowly escalate over time to the point where it’s difficult to escape.
Emotional abuse is when an abuser attempts to control, isolate, or scare you. You eventually feel hopeless and like you can never leave. It does not involve physical violence, although it can reach that point, and the abuser often uses threats of violence as a way to control you. You can feel like if you just love the abuser enough, things will get better if you keep them happy. The reality is the abuser uses many techniques and behaviors to keep you in a cycle of abuse.
Signs of Emotional Abuse
It can be hard to identify the abuse in any relationship, whether it’s with family, friends, or your partner. If you feel uneasy or that your relationship is unhealthy, it’s important to spot the signs that you may be experiencing emotional abuse in yourself.
Signs and symptoms of emotional abuse to look out for in yourself include:
- You begin to withdraw and isolate yourself from friends and family.
- You have no self-confidence and feel worthless.
- You feel as if you are walking on eggshells with every action and every word, fearful that anything could cause a reaction.
- You begin to give up activities that you used to enjoy.
- You may experience poor sleep, start eating poorly and begin to feel unhealthy.
- You may experience severe depression and anxiety.
Different Types of Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse can take many forms and impact you negatively emotionally, mentally, and physically. The different types of abuse include different types of behaviors and actions the abuser will use to control and manipulate you. These types of abuse include:
- Gaslighting – The abuser can make you fear or doubt your feelings or thoughts, and you begin to question your own reality.
- Instilling Fear – The abuser will often use fear as a tactic to take control by making threats of violence towards you or the people you love, threatening suicide, or even threatening to leave.
- Social Abuse – They will embarrass you and publicly humiliate you by calling you names and blaming you for anything that may go wrong.
- Dismissing – The abuser will easily dismiss your thoughts or feelings, making you feel as if your needs are unimportant.
- Verbal Abuse – The abuser will verbally attack you by calling you names, yelling, and swearing at you.
Getting Support When You Decide It’s Time to Leave
If you have experienced domestic violence in any capacity, getting the help you need is important. It can come from your partners, family members, or friends and can be detrimental to your self-esteem and self-worth. It’s important to remember that it’s never your fault and that getting out of the situation can be achieved.
The healing process can be challenging, take a long time to recover, and feel hopeless at times. Creating a support system with your friends, family, and other sources is a great place to start. You do deserve a life of happiness and healing. With the right resources and support, you can be on your way to living a healthy and fulfilling life free of abuse and neglect.
Working with a relationship recovery coach can be impactful in helping you recover from an emotionally abusive relationship. My Relationship Recovery Program can help you through all steps of recovery. Together, we can identify the abuse you may be suffering from, set healthy boundaries, and begin healing your relationship with yourself.
My podcast, Relationship Recovery Podcast, is a great resource to start your healing by providing support and insights into the complexities that are emotional abuse.