I've had this post brewing for quite a while. It comes from some of my in class learning, some experiences with people in my life, some of my own experiences, and a little bit from things I've heard from clients. (care has been taken to ensure there is nothing identifying written here.)
I feel compelled to talk about emotional abuse. It deserves attention because it's often overlooked, and people generally think it's not valid in the same way as physical violence or sexual violence is. Does emotional violence really compare? I might have said no in the past.... but I've come to see things differently. Even though other kinds of abuse leaves scars and bruises, the remnants of emotional abuse are no less permanent. I've heard folks who have been emotionally abused say that they WISH they had bruises, some tangible evidence that might validate the pain.
Emotionally abused women often don't recognize the abuse as abuse for a long time. Partly because its their 'normal'. And partly because they're too busy trying to make things right, constantly trying to flex and adapt to a changing reality. The ways that they are wrong, bad, and 'the problem' seem never ending, and they're often trying some new strategy to keep the chaos at bay. They often see themselves as the problem in every situation, because thats what they're told. Over, and over, and over. Friends and family, in a sincere effort to be supportive, often reinforce the message that the victim needs to change/is the problem.
I could say more, but a friend told me I could share some of her thoughts as long as I keep her identity secret.
"That’s the thing about being in a relationship with an abuser – you don’t matter. Its best to just face that fact and accept it. You don’t matter. Your partner finds every possible way to tell you that, to get you to embrace this truth. It's the secret to getting along, he says. Sometimes with gentleness, sometimes with humor, sometimes with venom that reverberates in your brain for years. Problem is: ITS NOT TRUE!! It's only the truth of the relationship you’re in. Somewhere, you know that, you just lose touch with it in the midst of turmoil and ongoing stress. And sometimes, he is so very good to you, that you wonder if you made the abuse up. How could these two faces belong to the same person, you ask yourself. But you know. the difference between the two faces is obvious, to you most of all. you know the subtle change. The cheek twitch. The clenched hands. The tone of voice. You know both of them - intimately."
"Every time I experience a verbal attack, I walk around as if in a fog or daze for days. I forget the difference between up and down. I become even more forgetful than I naturally am.. or maybe the absentmindedness is a response to a lifetime of abuse? I don’t know. I feel so little, so worthless, so confused. I can hardly string sentences together. I try to look for the consistencies and the pattern, something to work on, a starting place. But inconsistency is the only consistency. How do you do any repairs on a moving target? You just keep doing the dance. until one day, you can't dance anymore."
I'm learning about emotional abuse. I'm learning that it's real and deserves attention. I'm also learning that there's hope. IF both victim and abuser are willing to take honest inventory of things. To take responsibility and do the hard work of emotional change, rerouting learned responses. Boundaries need to be established and supports set up. Both parties need to talk about violence and power - what's happened between them and what they want to replace it with. I'm not writing a textbook or authoring a study here, but what I've learned so far tells me that the key ingredients to healing are genuine repentance, a strong commitment to changing the patterns that have maybe existed for a lifetime, outside supports/help, and most of all - love.
Love that looks like this: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance ... Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.
