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Recovering From And Understanding Emotional Abuse…
I have heard many clients say that they would prefer to get a black eye than be verbally degraded, insulted, and devalued. This statement may be hard for you to understand if you have never been in an emotionally abusive relationship but I get it. Words do hurt, no matter what schoolyard rhyme that you learned to convince you otherwise. Other things besides a slap in the face hurt too like the silent treatment, triangulation, manipulation, lies, betrayals, and abandonment. The victims of emotional abuse often suffer in silence because their wounds and scars are not visible. Sadly, many countries around the world do not have laws to protect the victims of emotional abuse. To some people the lack of physical signs of emotional abuse and the lack of legal recognition that intervention and protection needs to occur, make emotional abuse seem not all that serious or damaging; HOWEVER, there are physical ramifications of emotional abuse and it is very serious and harmful.
The mind and body are very connected and constantly communicate with each other. Emotional abuse can cause anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, cognitive dissonance, and anger in survivors. Individuals who suffer from these conditions commonly also suffer from insomnia, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, tension headaches, increase in blood pressure, chest pains, and problems with…
