Recovery from Repeated Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse can result in effects that mirror those of severe traumatic incidents. All forms of abuse can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
While it's easy to identify physical and sexual abuse, emotional abuse can be hard to see, especially when you're in the thick of it. There are a couple of reasons why it can be so hard to identify. Most of the time this abuse comes in a close relationship, it’s pervasive in the relationship so to the abused person, it seems normal to them. And because it cannot be seen physically, it’s an invisible wound.
There is no bruise or broken bone, so it is dismissed as fake. This is far from the truth. Emotional abuse can include screaming, belittling, gaslighting, manipulating, and any kind of constant pattern that another person uses to break down the person’s sense of self. It destroys self esteem and agency in the other person.
Emotional abuse can also include neglect and a lack of love from others. Emotional abandonment, where a caregiver is physically present but emotionally absent, can lead to emotional trauma.
Emotional abuse takes place in the context of relationships and often involves a parent early in life. This is known as a relational violation and is often referred to as complex PTSD.
Therapists
These are our therapists who are experienced in working with Complex PTSD.
