Verbal abuse involves using words to name call, bully, demean, frighten, intimidate, or control another person. This can include overt verbal abuse such as yelling, screaming, or swearing. Such behaviors are attempts to gain power, and the goal is to control and intimidate you into submission.
Emotional abuse can involve any of the following: Verbal abuse: yelling at you, insulting you or swearing at you. Rejection: constantly rejecting your thoughts, ideas and opinions. Gaslighting: making you doubt your own feelings and thoughts, and even your sanity, by manipulating the truth.
Destructive criticism and verbal abuse: shouting; mocking; accusing; name calling; verbally threatening.
Verbal abuse, also known as emotional abuse, is a range of words or behaviors used to manipulate, intimidate, and maintain power and control over someone. These include insults, humiliation and ridicule, the silent treatment, and attempts to scare, isolate, and control.
YOU MAY BE A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: VERBAL ABUSE – includes constant destructive criticism, sneering, mocking, making accusations, insulting and name calling, shouting, threatening.
It does not matter what the other person has done. It even does not matter if they started yelling at you first. In every moment of every day, we have choices about how we act, and yelling is always a disrespectful and uncompassionate choice.
Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of oral, gestured, and written language directed to a victim.
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.
For example, verbal abuse includes being subjected to name-calling on a regular basis, constantly feeling demeaned or belittled, and being subjected to the silent treatment by a partner.
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.
Yelling happens when we hit our thumb with a hammer, when we are frightened, or when we are excited. Although more frequently, yelling is a sign of aggression. Raising our voice creates stress and tension that often escalates into an argument.
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.
Is yelling in relationships normal? Some arguing or yelling is fine (we all lose our temper), but excessive yelling and screaming in relationships could indicate that the walls of communication have broken down between you and your partner.
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.
A verbally abusive relationship can cause a person to become plagued with depression, the gradual development of introversion, mood swings, lowered self-esteem, misplaced guilt, isolation, loneliness, and posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD (Lommen & Ehlers, 2014; Malenka & Deisseroth, 2014; Sullivan, 2018).
Signs of verbal abuse include:
Name-calling. Making jokes at your expense. Yelling, screaming, and swearing. Constant comparisons to others.
Example Sentences
Verb He was accused of sexually abusing a child. He abused his body with years of heavy drinking. He had abused his first car by not taking care of it. She abused her friend's trust.
The short answer is yes. We now understand that emotional abuse can cause a subcategory of the mental health condition PTSD, known as complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). It's actually one of the most severe forms of PTSD.
Stay alert to the different types of abuse
Some examples include slapping, pinching, choking, kicking, shoving, or inappropriately using drugs or physical restraints.
Synonyms of yell at (verb severely reprimand) berate. castigate. chew out.