Signs You Might Be In An Emotionally Abusive Relationship
Emotional abuse is harder to recognize than physical abuse. It can be subtle and go unnoticed. However, it can also be just as damaging. It’s so important to be aware of the signs that might indicate emotional abuse. Just like in a physically abusive relationship, the victim often feels like they are the one to blame. Abusive partners are manipulative, so falling down the path of feeling like you are crazy and questioning your sanity is far too easy. The more knowledgeable you are about potentially harmful red flags, the easier it will be for you to recognize them.
One big sign that your partner might be emotionally abusive is if they are controlling. They might make you feel like you have to ask their permission before you do anything and be obedient to their rules. You will feel like your independence is gone and you can’t make decisions for yourself. In a healthy relationship, you should both get an equal say. Something that often goes along with controlling behavior is isolation. While some feelings of jealousy are normal, extreme jealousy and trust issues can be very harmful to your relationship. If your partner doesn’t like you going out without them or being around other people, that’s not okay. Your partner also shouldn’t need to know where you are and what you are doing every single second of the day. Being in a relationship doesn’t mean you have to give up all your freedom. There should be enough trust between the two of you so that you can still have your own life outside of the relationship.
Another thing to look out for is the frequency and intensity of your arguments. All couples fight and that’s to be expected. However, you shouldn’t be fighting all the time and things shouldn’t blow up too easily. If you notice that your arguments involve more yelling than actual discussion of your feelings, you are not going to be able to resolve anything. You should also look out for things being turned around on you. Of course no one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but you shouldn’t always feel like you are the one to blame in a disagreement. An emotionally abusive partner will never admit that they are wrong and always try to make it seem like you are at fault. You also shouldn’t have to deal with aggressive language. Even if you are in the middle of a fight, a healthy couple won’t call each other names or go out of their way to make the other person bad.
What might be the most important thing to pay attention to is your own instincts. If you find that you feel nervous or anxious around your partner, that’s a big sign that something is wrong. You should never feel trapped in your relationship or afraid of the person you are dating. You shouldn’t doubt yourself or think less of yourself as a result of dating someone.