I often hear people comparing the effects of emotional abuse to that of physical abuse. In reality, emotional and physical abuse are just two sides of the same coin. Keep reading to find out why emotional abuse IS physical abuse.
People with personality disorders use intimidation and manipulation to control their victims.
This is often referred to as coercive abuse. Psychological torture is another term that comes to mind.
One aspect of coercive abuse is to keep the victim in a state of fright all the time.
Not only is this devastating to the person’s emotional and mental health, it’s also a form of physical abuse because of the effect it has on the nervous system.
When someone’s autonomic nervous system is continually in fight or flight mode, (also called sympathetic overdrive) it negatively impacts the immune system, increases inflammation and disrupts hormonal balance.
Emotional abuse is a key contributor to autoimmune diseases and other chronic illnesses, including cancer.
Other symptoms of psychological and emotional abuse that may be more subtle include:
- A sense of powerlessness to change your life
- Chronic anxiety and depression
- A sense of shame at having failed
- Low self-esteem
- Difficulty sleeping and frequent nightmares
- Weight gain or weight loss
- Fatigue
- Substance abuse
- Addictive behavior
- Hopelessness
- Isolation and withdrawing from friends
- Chronic pain
- Angry outbursts and uncontrolled crying
Symptoms may come on gradually, and are cumulative in nature, making it harder to identify the cause.
Another reason emotional abuse is harder to recognize, is the bruising is internal, and the effects are more insidious, rather than acute.
However, covert abuse, IS IN FACT, physical abuse. It’s a plain and simple truth…
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