Emotional abuse can be described as controlling another person by using emotions to blame, shame, embarrass, criticize or manipulate. Generally, a relationship is emotionally abusive if there is a pattern of bullying behaviours and abusive words observed consistently, which can cause a blow to an individual’s self-esteem and negatively affect their mental health. In this article, you will find a few common examples of emotional abuse.
Examples of emotional abuse
While emotional abuse can occur in various situations and relationships, here are a few common examples: Threats of abandonment or violence, making slanderous or derogative statements about an individual to others, intentionally frightening, withholding vital information, excessively criticizing or ignoring, and gaslighting.
Therapists in Calgary play a crucial role in helping individuals suffering from emotional abuse. If you are also suffering from this issue, it will be wise to find a therapist in your area at the earliest.
Let’s dig a little deeper into many examples of emotional abuse:
Threats of abandonment or violence
A type of emotional manipulation that uses a person’s fear as a weapon is often in the form of a threat of abandonment or violence. Abandonment is an effective abusive technique as individuals are wired for connection. Threatening violence can include any threat of physical force, such as “If you tell her, I’ll kill you.” Threats are used to control and manipulate you, stop you wherever you are, and not let you make your own decisions. Data from depression treatment centers show that this is the most common type of emotional abuse among couples.
Making slanderous or derogative statements
Emotionally abusive people may pass on such statements to others about an individual, which can cause them to feel bad about themselves or ashamed of their shortcomings. This may sometimes take the form of a lecture, lie, outburst, trivializing or walkouts.
Intentionally Frightening
Another common technique used for emotionally abusing another person is to frighten or scare them intentionally. In this way, the abuser gets control over the victim, and when emotional abuse becomes severe and prolonged, the victim may lose their sense of self. They may easily get frightened from everyday things and often doubt themselves.
Withholding important information
Withholding is one of the most toxic emotional abuse tactics. This is when an individual tries to control another person by refusing to communicate genuinely. It is as if someone treats you like you aren’t a valuable person, and they often ignore what you say and do not engage with you in a normal manner. Instead, they might give you a silent treatment and hold back any emotional reaction, connection, or information significant enough to be shared with you. This is a fundamental reason for which couples often seek counselling in Calgary. You can also benefit from expert assistance from a licensed psychologist/therapist in your area.
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is another commonly used tactic of emotional abusers. It refers to psychological manipulation in which an individual is constantly lead to believe that their thoughts and feelings are incorrect. Gaslighting can push the victim to such an extent where they question their own sanity.
Effects of emotional abuse
Emotional abuse can have devastating effects on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals, even though it may seem less evident and severe than physical abuse.
According to research, emotional or psychological abuse can commonly be associated with:
Poor self-esteem
Insomnia
Anxiety and depression
Thoughts of suicide
Low level of relationship satisfaction
Physical health issues
Effective ways of dealing with emotional abuse
Recognizing the abuse is itself the first step in dealing with emotional abuse. It is essential to acknowledge if any aspect of such abuse is identified. This requires you to be honest with what you are experiencing, ultimately leading you to reclaim your life. Here are a few ways of retaking control of your life:
Prioritize yourself
Set boundaries
Do not blame yourself
Form a support network
Be clear that you cannot fix them
Stop engaging with an abusive person
Take help from a therapist or a close friend/family member
Seek help from a therapist wherever you live.
Conclusion:
While emotional abuse is quite prevalent, it is important to remember that you did not do anything wrong. Taking help from a therapist in Edmonton or wherever you live can lead to a more autonomous lifestyle. It can help you prepare to leave, heal from experience, and take control of your life. Alternatively, you can find more focused help in a depression treatment center because depression is very prevalent in emotionally abused individuals.
