Have you ever wondered if someone abuses you? Abuse is often hard to identify, but there are many signs that can help. In this article, we have discussed a few abuse symptoms, their psychological effects on humans, and their treatments. Learning about these abuse symptoms could be the first step in getting out of an abusive relationship or situation.
Contents
What is Abuse?
Before we move forward, let’s first define what abuse is. To abuse is to treat with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly. Physical and mental/emotional are two types of abuse that often go hand in hand. Mental or emotional abuse can be threats to harm you or your loved ones, false accusations of infidelity (or other things), isolation from family and friends, excessive jealousy of others who spend time with you, controlling who you see and what you do with them. Physical abuse can include pushing, slapping, or punching you in any way that is not nice. It also includes using a weapon against you like a gun that could hurt you. Physical abuse is when a person hits your body. They hit it to make it sore. And they also make sure that people do not have food to eat.
Forms of Abuse
Physical Abuse
When someone uses force to inflict physical harm on another person. This category includes acts such as punching and whipping. It also covers behaviors that result in illness or disability, such as poisoning.
Sexual Abuse
Any forced sexual contact or behavior. This includes unwanted kissing. This also includes rape which is when someone touches you in the vagina, anus, or mouth with their penis.
Mental Abuse
Includes threats of harm; humiliation; controlling what you do and who you see and speak to; harassment (on the phone), stalking, and isolation from family and friends.
Financial Control
When someone controls your money and forces you to do something, that is financial abuse. If you leave your abuser, he might not give you child support money.
Neglect
Occurs when you do not have adequate care for your physical and/or emotional needs. It happens when you don’t provide food, medicine, or sleep. Neglect also means you are not taking care of someone’s mental health.
Domestic Abuse
The physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse that occurs within a domestic partnership. The abuser can be your current or former husband, wife, cohabiting partner, or date.
Emotional Abuse
Sometimes people don’t know that abuse is happening because they don’t see any bruises. But it can affect people just as much, even if you can’t see any bruises. An emotionally abusive relationship makes you feel like you are not worth anything and that nothing will ever be better. It might start out because someone called you names, but it can get worse and they can control everything in your life.
Stalking
This is when someone bothers you on social media or anywhere else. Some people will try to scare you into doing things by following you and threatening to hurt your family if you don’t do what they want. For example, a man might try to make sexual requests from a girl in exchange for money or benefits.
Inappropriate Touching
This can include patting hair without permission especially if it isn’t related to styling purposes; touching intimate body parts such as breasts and genital areas even during hugs.
Elder Abuse
When someone harms, exploits, or neglects an elderly person. The abuser is often someone in charge of the elder’s care, such as a family member or nursing home worker. In the U.S., roughly 1 in 10 Americans over age 60 have experienced elder abuse.
Child Abuse
When someone hurts a child or adolescent, either physically or sexually. Child abuse can also include neglect and exploitation by caretakers, including parents.
Ritual Abuse
This means any group or person who does not want to do something and is forced to do it. They might be used for sexual acts, animal abuse, child abuse, rape, and mind control. This is a way for people to make other people be quiet. It can happen to someone who lives far away from the person making them be quiet too. They might do this by using violence, or they may brainwash the person so that they will do anything they say no matter what it is. It could include being used as a drug courier without knowing what is inside your suitcase because it looked like unopened gifts with fake labels; selling your body for money, etc.
People who are in a position of authority may continue to abuse children. If you tell someone outside the group or family, they might punish you. Punishments can be beatings or not being able to see your kids. They might not have food because they don’t have enough money. They might need medical treatment but someone won’t get it. Members might make threats to people who want to stay quiet, such as threatening someone’s family. This can be scary for victims. They might be afraid for their safety and the safety of other family members.
Abuse Symptoms That You Must Know
- When you feel like everything is your fault and that it’s impossible to overcome the situation.
- When you’re afraid of people other than those who have hurt or abused you.
- Feel as though there should be something wrong with you because if there wasn’t then this abuse wouldn’t be happening to you.
- Have trouble sleeping at night because nightmares about what has happened plague your dreams and wakefulness during the day.
- Isolation.
- When you feel like there is no escape from your abuser.
- Feeling angry all the time, even when nothing has happened to make you mad.
- Having a short temper or being overly sensitive at times for seemingly no reason whatsoever can be abuse symptoms as well.
There are many abuse symptoms that might mean someone is being victimized. Do not ignore these abuse symptoms. If you see one, it’s important to get help from a grown-up right away.
Why Do People Abuse?
Abuse is a choice. There is no reason or explanation that can justify why someone would choose to harm another person.
However, abusers often do share certain common characteristics; they are usually extremely insecure and lack self-esteem. People can be funny. Sometimes people are proud of themselves, but they feel bad about how they are in other ways. For example, people might have trouble being nice to their friends at times because they’re proud.
Abusers want to control others because they feel powerful when they can tell you what to wear, where you should go, and whom you should talk to. The abuser takes away the victim’s independence because they feel powerless. They lash out at other people, which makes it impossible for them to be independent.
People with a bad temper usually have a past of being abused or seeing someone else being abused. This is why they do the same things in their own life.
When people feel bad about themselves, they might also feel weak when they compare themselves to other people. This is what abusers want their victims to do – make yourself small so that the abuser can seem bigger by comparison. This enables an abuser’s sense of self-worth while simultaneously diminishing yours until eventually there will be none left at all!
Psychological Effects Of Abuse
When a person starts having abuse symptoms, he/she gets the following psychological effects simultaneously
Trust Issues
Trust is a major issue with those who have been victimized by abuse. People may have a hard time trusting others and being skeptical of their motives, especially if someone cheated on them before. This can make it hard for them to form new relationships or continue the ones that they already have going on in their lives. When someone does not feel loved by people, they can think that there is something wrong with them. This makes them feel bad about themselves.
Depression
If you were abused, you might feel depressed. You will be reminded of what happened when you see marks on your body or hear other stories from people who were abused. Suicidal thoughts and feelings can be a result of abuse. If you have been hurt, it is hard to imagine yourself living through more pain. But if you make it out alive, then there is something better for you in life. You might not know how to find this but sometimes we hope that we will live until we find our way back to safety and security.
Shame
Victims often feel like they deserve the abuse that people give them. They think it’s their fault. This is not true. People make lots of wrong assumptions about people who are abusers. This can make it hard for victims to go find help. That is not good because they might have scars in their mind and in their body. Abusers will drain you mentally until there is nothing left but emptiness all around you.
They want to control other people because it makes them angry when they don’t have power. When they take away everything from someone, then the person has nothing left except for themselves. Then the victim should leave quickly before being hurt by mental abuse.
If you think someone is trying to make you not like those important in your life then it is time to plan an escape before too much damage happens. People who have been abused sometimes lose their minds and cannot see clearly. This makes them not think good. Some people who are not thinking well can go to jail, lose jobs, and break up with their friends.
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological illness that can affect anyone who has been a victim of physical and/or mental abuse. It can be hard for people who are victims to tell what is real. What they may think happened may not have really happened. This makes them feel unsafe even when there is no threat in the area. This can cause flashbacks of certain events such as pinning up against something by your throat while the other person screams obscenities at you. These memories are not welcome- they replay over and over again. They can cause someone to have PTSD. This will cause them to have a hard time sleeping because their thoughts are rewiring.
Mood Issues
Victims often feel trapped because they are used to the abuse. The abuse will continue until there is nothing left that the abuser can take. This can cause people to go from being sad and withdrawn to feeling good again. Friends and family who have been loving, compassionate, and supportive will not be cared for.
In the other extreme, some victims have become people they never thought themselves capable of being. They don’t care about other people, including themselves. These types of personalities become fearless with no regard for consequences so long as they get what they want right here/right now!
Mental Illness
People who have been abused often have mental illnesses. It can be anxiety, depression, or any other kind of mental illness. It is extremely hard for a victim to differentiate between what is real and what exists only in their mind because they’ve been made out to be crazy. This means people take drugs, alcohol, or gambling to make themselves feel better. This might only work for a short time. Then they want it again and again.
Dissociation
Abuse victims can become very numb to their own feelings which is a way of protecting themselves from being hurt even more by those they once trusted. Depression, anxiety, and PTSD are bad feelings. People get them when they don’t see the world the way they’re used to. It is hard for victims to know who they are anymore because their life has been turned upside down so many times.
In some cases, this dissociation “switch” becomes stuck in the on position for too long though. There are stories where abuse survivors go through pain and then they come back to their normal state and they don’t know anything happened. But we think that abusers do this because they enjoy seeing the pain in the victim’s eyes and feeling it for themselves.
It’s important to figure out what is going on with yourself. If you are feeling something, then it might be happening. Some people will not show any of these things and others may show all of them. It is important to go see a doctor and find support groups to get better if you need them.
Anger
Victims often feel angry after what happened to them, but they can’t always see this because depression/anxiety/dissociation makes it hard for them to feel their own feelings. This means that victims might lash out and do things that are not good for themselves like turning into someone who doesn’t care about people or who isn’t kind anymore (like forgetting about family).
Anger is a normal part of grief. When you are alone, it can be very difficult because you feel like no one understands what happened to you. It may take some time before you can forgive and relax again.
It is important for you to be aware of all the abuse symptoms. There might be many types of abuse that are not just physical.
What To Do If You’re Being Abused?
If you think someone is abusing you, talk to someone who cares about you and will try their best to protect you from further hurt. It does not matter how bad things have gotten, talking about it helps a little.
When you can’t take care of yourself, you might need to think about who else can help. Some people might be able to do more than others. Talk to a family member, friend, teacher/professor, or law enforcement officer when that happens.
In some cases, victims feel like no one else could understand what they have been through. This only makes things worse because the victim feels alone when it is time to face their abuser again.
Find someone that can help and contact them as soon as possible; most countries offer free counseling services online or by phone in order to help victims get through this difficult time.
It’s important that you do something about the situation before it gets worse. Pushing people away for too long will make them feel like there is no way out, which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where all hope seems lost.
If you are reading this, you probably know how to deal with depression. If not, you should find ways that work for you. But do not push yourself too hard because it will make things worse and it can become dangerous.
If you try to find someone who cares, your life will get better. Friends can help you.
Therapies For Abuse Victims
There are some therapies out there that can help abuse survivors recover from their trauma and get back to normal life; these include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
It is an early intervention for people who might be at risk of developing PTSD. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps those affected learn how to identify, understand, and change thoughts in order not to feel overwhelmed by them.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of psychotherapy that treats borderline personality disorder, depression, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse. It is a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness techniques.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is a technique that treats anxiety disorders caused by memories associated with traumatic events. This treatment is done for the patient. They imagine the memory of an event over and over again until they no longer feel fear or stress when thinking about it.
Although CBT, DBT, and Exposure Therapy are all helpful for people who have been through a trauma, they will only work if the victim is willing to do them. If someone is not willing, it could make things worse.
Don’t feel bad if you can’t do one-on-one therapies. You might be better with group therapy. Give different therapies a try and find one that is best for you.
Conclusion
With a little bit of knowledge and some empathy on abuse symptoms, you can make an enormous difference in the life of someone who is suffering from abuse. The next time you notice abuse symptoms that something might be going on with your friend or family member, reach out to them and offer support. They may not know what they need most right now–but if they do open up about it then please remember that their abuser does not have the power over them anymore because there are people around who care for them. Let’s work together to end domestic violence!
For more information, please contact MantraCare. Abuse is a serious and harmful behavior that can cause physical, emotional, or psychological harm to a person. If you have any queries regarding Online Counseling experienced therapists at MantraCare can help: Book a trial Online therapy session
