When a person has been experiencing constant abuse, be it psychological, emotional or physical, that person changes completely. And this can have many consequences on a psychological and emotional level that can be more profound than the physical. Psychological abuse is not something that is noticed with the naked eye like physical abuse. But if we can make a comparison between the way of being of that person to how it was before and how it is now in the present tense. Only then can we perceive the changes it has had.
All people who have been or are being abused by their partner suffer profound consequences depending on the time they have remained in that situation of abuse, individual characteristics, support from close people, their ability to cope with adverse situations, etc.
Psychological abuse
We refer to any type of behavior that is carried out continuously towards a person where it is intended to end their emotional well-being.
The way in which the emotional well-being of the victim of abuse is gradually destroyed and destroyed is through verbal aggression. This can be carried out in a subtle or direct way, making the victim suffer constantly through intimidation, devaluation, guilt or fear, among others.
Why is the victim tied to her abuser? It happens because of “love” and dependence that the abused person feels towards his abuser, who takes full advantage of the situation.
The victim is unaware of what is happening or may also be confused, which worsens over time because she loses self-confidence and her self-esteem may deteriorate to the point of feeling totally insecure and defenseless in the face of her abuser.
Aftermath
The person who is being a victim of psychological abuse can have innumerable consequences, for example:
- Loss of self-esteem.
This is the main consequence of any type of abuse. The longer the victim stays with her abuser, the more the victim’s self-esteem decreases.
People with low self-esteem do not love each other, therefore they do not value and respect themselves, they believe that anyone has the right to treat them unfairly. They may come to believe that they are not worthy of anything or anyone. - Isolation and loneliness.
The person who is being abused gradually isolates himself from his family, friends, and other important people in his life. This is because the abuser, through threats, causes the victim to lose contact with others, gradually isolating them from them. - Depression.
Last but not least, the person who is a victim of abuse suffers from depression due to the high degree of stress and anxiety to which they are exposed. They feel that they cannot really do anything to improve their situation, they stop finding meaning in life, it is impossible for them to find motivation. They suffer more than they enjoy. - Stress and anxiety
It is normal for people who are being abused to experience a series of emotional ups and downs every day due to the stress they feel from being constantly abused. - Feelings of guilt
Due to emotional blackmail by the abuser, he finally ends up feeling guilty for everything that happens to him. She even feels that she deserves to be abused because she ‘doesn’t do things right’.
The learned helplessness syndrome (Seligman) refers to those situations in which the person suffering from it has suffered abuse for a long time and has learned not to react since they feel that they cannot do anything to remedy what is happening to them and used to live like this.
The victim creates the false conviction that nothing she does will be able to help her, that she is not in control of the situation, and therefore that she is condemned to remain that way all her life.
The motivation that the victim may have previously felt to defend themselves and get ahead disappears due to this lack of belief in helplessness. This causes the victim to stop fighting to put a stop to their abuse and learn to live exposed without ever looking beyond.
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