These behaviors are just as serious as other forms of abuse and may damage self-worth and well-being. Every relationship is different, and signs of emotional and verbal abuse may not be obvious from the start of a relationship.
Unfortunately, you may not even realize when verbal abuse is taking place. Many who experience verbal abuse do not seek help because those actions are not that serious. Many excuse the behavior away. Abusers may make recipients of abuse feel that they're oversensitive by playing it off as teasing.
Verbal abuse might not seem like as big a deal as physical abuse, but it can cause long-lasting harm and trauma to its victims. While it may not have physical repercussions, it is no less serious. Verbal abuse can be perpetrated by anyone in your life, from a parent to a coworker to a friend.
The danger is in the unseen emotional damage to others. It contributes to many physical health conditions, such as chronic pain, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, self-harm, and depression.
Emotional or psychological abuse
Emotional abuse often coexists with other forms of abuse, and it is the most difficult to identify. Many of its potential consequences, such as learning and speech problems and delays in physical development, can also occur in children who are not being emotionally abused.
These conditions include genetic, congenital, and other disorders that may result in poor weight gain, bone fracture, or skin lesions that appear to be bruises or burns. Society demands that medical personnel who care for children be aware of the many indicators that suggest CAN.
Neglect is the most common form of child abuse. Physical abuse may include beating, shaking, burning, and biting. The threshold for defining corporal punishment as abuse is unclear.
The psychological effects of verbal abuse include: fear and anxiety, depression, stress and PTSD, intrusive memories, memory gap disorders, sleep or eating problems, hyper-vigilance and exaggerated startle responses, irritability, anger issues, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, self-harm, and assaultive behaviors.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is highly associated with verbal abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and/or domestic violence often suffered by those who are non-borderline.
People engage in verbal abuse for a variety of reasons. Family history, past experiences, personality, and mental illness are a few factors that can play a role. The goal of the abuser is to control you by making you feel bad about who you are.
According to Tanya, “Narcissistic abuse is about power and control,” which “can be verbal, emotional, psychological, financial, sexual, and/or physical.” Often, a Narcissist suffers from feeling a lack of control in their life, so they try to control the people around them.
Try a response like, “That's a very hurtful thing for you to say.” or “Those remarks are highly inappropriate.” or “I'm not going to engage in a conversation that's profane or hateful.” Calling the patient out on their own inappropriateness might be more effective than simply pretending that they aren't being verbally ...
If the verbal abuse is criminal, you must immediately report it to the authorities and inform them if you are concerned about your safety. Not all verbal confrontations are abusive.
There are other reasons why some people are more prone to verbally abusive behavior than others -- such as drug or alcohol problems, childhood abuse, attachment disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and even low self-esteem -- however, it is not our place to come up with a diagnosis, nor is it helpful.
Emotional abuse is linked to thinning of certain areas of the brain that help you manage emotions and be self-aware — especially the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe. Epigenetic changes and depression. Research from 2018 has connected childhood abuse to epigenetic brain changes that may cause depression.
The Effects of Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse can leave you feeling worn out, devastated, hurt and afraid to assert yourself. It can lead to a sense of vulnerability because the more it's experienced, the more we can get “used to it.” We start to tolerate being talked to by our child in ways we never thought we would.
Emotional trauma is a common outcome when someone has been manipulated, abused, or gaslighted. This form of abuse may involve verbal insults, exertion of physical or mental control, or causing fear to the point where you socially isolate yourself.
A verbally abusive relationship can cause a person to become plagued with depression, mood swings, lowered self-esteem, misplaced guilt, isolation, loneliness, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
While physically violent people might be able to recognize that their actions were wrong, at least in the eyes of the law, psychological abusers may really believe their reality to be the truth.
Name-calling
If you've asked someone to stop calling you a name and they've ignored your request, they're being verbally abusive. Example: While an abuser might scream out harsh words like “worthless” or “idiot” during an argument, even supposedly playful nicknames and insults can be abusive if they're hurtful.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly associated with physical sources of trauma, such as war, physical assault, or sexual assault. But mental health experts have come to realize that emotional abuse can lead to PTSD as well.
1 The adult may be a relative, caregiver, step-parent, religious figure, coach, or babysitter, though the majority of perpetrators are parents of the child. In the United States, children experience child abuse or neglect at a rate of 8.9 per 1,000 children.
The major reasons for physical and psychological maltreatment of children within the family often are a parent's feelings of isolation, stress, and frustration. Parents need support and as much information as possible in order to raise their children responsibly.