Emotional Abuse

Introduction

One of the lesser known types of abuse is emotional abuse and that is because like financial abuse it isn't as easy to see as the bruises or scars from physical abuse. However, the tell for emotional abuse, as is the tell for all abuse is the use of control. Read on for a definition of along with the signs and signals pertaining to emotional abuse.

Definition and Types of Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is any action that is done in an effort to control the behavior of one's partner.  I scoured many articles, journals, and books for an easy to digest definition of emotional abuse that you, our readers, could share with colleagues, friends, and families. In the end I settled on the definition I found in an article written by verywellmind. The definition stated that emotional abuse occured when there was a consistent pattern of "abusive words and bullying behaviors that wear down a person's self-esteem and undermine their mental health."

One of the facets of emotional abuse that many people have heard and would recognize if used in a sentence is gaslighting. Gaslighting is such a huge component of domestic violence that it will actually be the topic of next week's blog post so be sure to read about it then.

Emotional Abuse in the news

Most recently Ireland made international news for its efforts to thwart emotional and psychological abuse. Recognizing that emotional abuse could be just as damaging as physical abuse, officials in Ireland set out to take a stand and did so by criminalizing emotional abuse. There is some concern by domestic violence advocates in the country that the changes put on paper may not be implemented with full force as quickly and with as much fidelity as the issue deserves, but the move to recognize this heinous type of abuse is a good step in the right direction. It is hoped that the action will help Ireland take leaps and bounds towards eliminating all types of domestic abuse in their country. If this happens, perhaps other country's can follow suit with similar legislation and results.

You can read more about the law passed in Ireland below by clicking on the link

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/health/ireland-coercive-control-domestic-abuse-intl/index.html

If you would like to know learn more about emotional abuse, please visit one of the sites below. 

Sources

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/health/ireland-coercive-control-domestic-abuse-intl/index.html

https://www.verywellmind.com/identify-and-cope-with-emotional-abuse-4156673

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/11-warning-signs-gaslighting