What is Emotional Abuse?
Abuse is any behavior that is designed to control and subjugate another human being through the use of fear, humiliation, and verbal or physical assaults. Emotional abuse is any kind of abuse that is emotional rather than physical in nature. It can include anything from verbal abuse and constant criticism to more subtle tactics, such as intimidation, manipulation, and refusal to ever be pleased.
Emotional abuse is like brain washing in that it systematically wears away at the victim’s self-confidence, sense of self-worth, trust in their own perceptions, and self-concept. Whether it is done by constant berating and belittling, by intimidation, or under the guise of “guidance,” “teaching,” or “advice,” the results are similar. Eventually, the recipient of the abuse loses all sense of self and remnants of personal value. Emotional abuse cuts to the very core of a person, creating scars that may be far deeper and more lasting than physical ones (Engel, 1992, p. 10).
” UIUC Counseling Center (via emotionalabuseawareness)(Source: counselingcenter.illinois.edu)
Hey all you WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL People!
I’m Drew, 21 years old.
I’ll be honest, I was a tad scared to post this submission today because, while I’m starting to come to terms with my medical conditions and how I look, I am sometimes afraid people will see this and judge me.But I know you’re all a bunch of brave, kind-hearted individuals so here I am. There’s not much to see in the photo, you probably cannot tell but there are stretch marks on my stomach.
For years, I’ve been bullied on my weight even though they didn’t know anything about me our my health conditions. That didn’t really matter though because when I did summon the courage to tell them about that, they laughed and pointed and gossiped even worse. I’ve been physically abused by my father and told I was worthless but I’ve removed him from my life now and he’s regretting what he did, but he has not earned my forgiveness because he is still being judgemental. I have also been mentally and emotionally abused by girls who’ve led me on and then dumped me because I didn’t look a certain way.
But now… I’ve found an amazing girl who’s helped me realise I am so much more than I thought and in the past 5 months… I have started to come out of the pit of thinking “Oh I’m *insert insult here*” and starting to realise well “There’s only one of me. I’m unique and possibly beautiful”. And even if no one else agrees, as long as I keep thinking that(not in an egotistical way of course), then I am truly taking a big step out of the dark for myself.You’re all amazing, kiddos. You’re all beautiful! Don’t be afraid to take the leap and join the Body Peace Revolution!!
This is one of the only pictures from this site I’ve felt compelled to reblog. Not because the other ones seemed fake or insincere, but this one touched me. You go, Drew.
Physical Abuse and Domestic Violence Change a Child's Brain, Study Finds (Science Daily)
When children have been exposed to family violence, their brains become increasingly “tuned” for processing possible sources of threat, a new study reports. The findings, reported in the Dec. 6 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveal the same pattern of brain activity in these children as seen previously in soldiers exposed to combat.
The study is the first to apply functional brain imaging to explore the impact of physical abuse or domestic violence on the emotional development of children, according to the researchers.
“Enhanced reactivity to a biologically salient threat cue such as anger may represent an adaptive response for these children in the short term, helping keep them out of danger,” said Eamon McCrory of University College London. “However, it may also constitute an underlying neurobiological risk factor increasing their vulnerability to later mental health problems, and particularly anxiety.”
Maltreatment is known to be one of the most potent environmental risk factors associated with anxiety and depression. Still, McCrory said, “relatively little is known how such adversity ‘gets under the skin’ and increases a child’s later vulnerability, even into adulthood.”
The new study shows that children with documented exposure to violence in the home differ in their brain response to angry versus sad faces. When presented with angry faces, children with a history of abuse show heightened activity in the brain’s anterior insula and amygdala, regions involved in detecting threat and anticipating pain.
McCrory says the changes don’t reflect damage to the brain. Rather, the patterns represent the brain’s way of adapting to a challenging or dangerous environment. Still, those shifts may come at the cost of increased vulnerability to later stress.
Although the results may not have immediate practical implications, they are nonetheless critical given that a significant minority of children are exposed to family violence, McCrory says. “This underlines the importance of taking seriously the impact for a child of living in a family characterized by violence. Even if such a child is not showing overt signs of anxiety or depression, these experiences still appear to have a measurable effect at the neural level.”
i have no doubts that this also applies to children who underwent or witnessed long term emotional abuse, with or without enacted/threatened physical violence.
I have no doubt that this shouldn’t have been obvious…
