When one hears the word abuse it is easy to automatically think of punches being thrown. Although, what other kinds of abuse is there – that women often endure in relationships, that may not always be physical. There are three main categories of abuse: physical, mental, and emotional. All of which can really take a toll.
Whether it is emotional, mental, or physical – it can all be considered domestic violence and no one is superior over the other because it is all meant to shove you down and destroy your self-esteem. The easiest to define is physical abuse because it is the one that shows signs. Physical abuse leaves behind bruises and scars, sometimes worse things. Often times it is the easiest to forgive as well because your partner will promise to never do it again – until they do and as time goes on it may escalate. Emotional and mental abuse can sometimes go hand-in-hand because they aren’t physical, but instead they take control of you mentally. If your partner screams at you, is crazy possessive, isolates you from everyone, makes you feel worthless and like everything is your fault all the time – then these are all signs that you may be in a mentally abusive relationship. Their goal is to break you down so much to the point where they are the only ones who can fix you, so that way you will only depend on them. They also make you depend on them solely because they isolated you from all of your friends and family, to the point where in your mind you believe that they won’t forgive you and help you if you asked. Although that is not true – they would still be there for you no matter what.
These are just a few kinds of abuse that are seen in abusive relationships. All of which take time to heal from and all have the same first step – to seek out help. It may not be easy and it may be hard to trust because of what your partner has put you through; however there are people out there who know what you have been through and can be a good support system for you. If you or anyone you know may be in an abusive relationship, whether it is physical or mental abusive, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233); someone there will be able to comfort you/them and give the resources needed.