In this article “Gaslighting in relationships: 9 Signs, Examples & How To Handle It” we are going to discuss, in detail what gaslighting in relationships means and how to detect it.
No matter what kind of abuse you are going through, it is always complicated. Physical abuse contains marks on the body or scars, but, emotional abuse in a relationship involves mind games and that’s hard to detect.
Gaslighting in a relationship means abuse that you go through in a relationship.
Let us go through each abuse and then let us see how to detect if you are a victim of emotional abuse because emotional abuse is hard to detect because of intangibility.
Physical Abuse
This means when a person tries to harm someone purposely. The person who hits can use any objects or hands and abuse the victim.
Verbal Abuse
This leads to mental abuse. Verbal abuse includes any words or statements that make a victim feel weak and hurt to such an extent that the victim may go into depression and thereby high suicidal tendencies.
Emotional Abuse
This and mental abuse are closely related. It includes a person who intentionally continuously makes the victim weak by emotional mistreatment. It includes a person who scares, humiliates, isolates, or deliberately ignores the victim.
EMOTIONAL ABUSE IN A RELATIONSHIP
Unlike Physical abuse which is easily noticed. Emotional abuse is very difficult to detect.
Emotional abuse is difficult to notice. Hence there are many such victims around us. This is why more awareness is needed on this topic.
Below are some pointers which include emotional abuse which explains what can come under emotional abuse.
- If your partner makes you feel that you aren’t good enough for him/her constantly.
- Your partner threatens you or scares you or blackmails you about something if you leave him/her.
- Yells at you for even petty things
- Humiliates you in front of a bunch of people.
- Verbally accuses you badly.
- Ignores you when you need them the most.
- Isolates you purposely
- Ties you and leaves you alone in the room accusing
Most people neglect emotional abuse, thinking it is just a normal thing. Therefore it is very important to spread the word about emotional abuse.
There are various kinds of emotional abuse and they as mentioned below: –
1 – Verbal accusations
As mentioned earlier, verbal abuse leads to mental and emotional trauma/abuse. This includes yelling at you, insulting you too badly that you can never forget, and ends up making you feel weak.
2 – Rejection
Rejecting properly and respectfully won’t hurt anybody’s feelings but, rejecting by the way of humiliation is traumatizing. Rejection includes humiliation or constantly rejecting somebody’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, and opinions.
3 – Gaslighting
Gaslighting is not a very familiar word but, it is a term that includes a person who makes the victim doubt his/her feelings and thoughts, and also sanity. It also involves a person who manipulates the truth and presents it before the victim ends up victim believe the false facts.
Also Read, How to keep Your relationship strong and happy.
4 – Fears
This involves the person who keeps throwing some facts before you resulting in you fearing the same. The person causes you to fear by making you feel afraid, intimated, or threatened.
5 – Isolation
As mentioned earlier this involves a person who isolates you thereby restricting your freedom, and stopping you from contacting your family and friends. This also involves restricting your movements and restricting you from performing the actions.
6 – Financial
This involves controlling your financial sources or withholding your money or taking control over your income or bank statements or even preventing you from working or even stealing your money unknowingly.
7 – Names
This involves calling you out by some vulgar names or keeping you dirty names and thereby causing you trauma.
8 – Bullying
This involves constantly saying or doing things that hurt you.
This is general thinking of people that physical abuse is more serious than emotional abuse but it is simply not true.
The wounds of emotional abuse in long-lasting. Emotional abuse also harms your self-confidence. It makes you even doubt your existence. It makes you feel depressed and also makes you doubt your self-esteemed.
In a relationship, emotional abuse is simply not acceptable. Because the relationship is meant to be lovely.
It makes no sense to accept this trauma because there is always a weapon called “breakup” which a victim of abuse can use anytime. If you see someone going through such a horrifying phase help them and pull them out of such a well that possesses no more water to drink and has dried up.
If you are going through any kind of abuse, it is important that you seek help and there are various helplines and services from which you can get help and support.
You can also handle it alone by talking to someone or defending yourself strongly so that no person can dare to abuse you. Be your own protector.
There are many services available such as legal, financial, and medical. You can seek any support whenever needed.
Do not forget that there is someone who loves you always, especially your parents. Don’t make a single failure in a relationship impact you badly.
Like this article? Do let us know in the comment section what you think about Gaslighting in relationships.