Day 48 - Emotional Abuse

Abuse does not have to be physical. It can be emotional, as well. It can be verbal through constant criticism, it can be controlling through repeated disapproval, and it can be done through berating, belittling, and intimidation tactics.

Emotional abuse systematically wears away at a person's self-worth, self-confidence, and self-concept.

With emotional abuse, the insults, insinuations, and criticisms eat away a person's ability to judge a situation realistically. Oftentimes, an emotionally abused person believes it is their own fault.

Types of emotional abuse are:

• Abusive expectations -- no matter how much you give, it's never enough;
• Aggression -- name-calling, threatening, ordering, and invalidating a person's feelings and thoughts;
• Constant Chaos -- the abuser is in constant conflict with others;
• Denying -- denying a person's emotional needs through punishment or humiliation, leading the person to mustrust their own feelings and needs/desires;
• Domination -- The abuser wants things his way, not your way;
• Emotional Blackmail -- using threats and other fear tactics to control you;
• Invalidation -- the abuser fails to acknowledge reality, "You are too sensitive. You shouldn't feel that way.";
• Minimizing -- the abuser trivializes your feelings and emotions;
• Unpredictable responses -- sudden emotional outbursts by the abuser;
• Verbal Assaults -- name-calling, screaming, threatening, belittling.