What is Mental Abuse?

STOP MENTAL ABUSE 

    Mental abuse is common in family systems, marriages, intimate relationships and friendships - it's common for people to experience or witness mental abuse without truly realizing what is happening. Mental health awareness has grown over the last decade, the mental health profession has grown as well which allows for more research and development opportunities. 

Mental abuse can lead to or cause mental health conditions or physical ailments such as: depression, anxiety, hypertension, eating disorders, unwanted thoughts or behaviors. 

    It's common for victims of mental abuse to suffer from loss of desire, intimacy and self-confidence levels because their emotions, feelings and thoughts are constantly under attack without the necessary healing periods. Although, mental abuse doesn't begin as a physical problem it can become dangerous due to unhealed traumas, constant abuse and dysfunctional times. Mental abuse can affect the communication, intellectual and emotional levels in a person, it affects the mind, body and spirit entirely. If mental abuse is left untreated, depression is what typically begins to form due to having constant anxiety and emotional imbalances without therapeutic modification or improvement. 

    Notice the red flags and common signs associated with mental abuse such as: low self-confidence, minimal family or social engagement, irritable mood swings, inconsistent eating or sleeping habits, isolation from others or social environments and unpleasant thoughts/behaviors. It's important that we understand how mental abuse affects our brain and cognitive patterns which controls our behaviors, thought processes and emotional reactions. 

    Mental abuse can affect a person's mentality or way of thinking which affects their daily living, mental abuse affects every bodily system in various ways. Mental abuse is commonly connected with psychological or emotional abuse traits because emotional abuse can become verbally or mentally abusive. Different forms of mental and psychological abuse can consist of harassment, threats, control, isolation and/or intimidation - most people witness or experience a form of mental or emotional abuse in their workplace, home environment or an open social setting.  

“Your present circumstance don’t determine where you go; they merely determine where you start.” 

— Nido Qubein