Emotional Abuse is the most common tactic used by abusers. It’s often mistaken that abuse only appears in a physical form. However, most abuse is often difficult to see.
COMMON SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL ABUSE:
Frequently blames or criticizes you
Calls you names
Ridicules your beliefs, religion, race or class
Blames you for “causing” the abuse
Ridicules/makes bad remarks about your gender
Criticizes or threatens to hurt your family or friends
Isolates you from your family and friends
Abuses animals
Tries to keep you from doing something you wanted to do
Is angry if you pay too much attention to someone or something else (children, friends, school, etc.)
Withholds approval, appreciation or affection
Humiliates you
Becomes angry if meals or housework are not done to his liking
Makes contradictory demands
Does not include you in important decisions
Does not allow you to sleep
Repeatedly harasses you about things you did in the past
Takes away car keys, money or credit cards
Threatens to leave or told you to leave.
Checks up on you (listens to your phone calls, looks at phone bills, checks the mileage on the car, etc.)
Tells people you suffer from a mental illness
Threatens to commit suicide
Interferes with your work or school (provokes a fight in the morning, calls to harass you at work, etc.)
Minimizes or denies being abusive
Abuses your children
Breaks dates and cancels plans without reason
Uses drugs or alcohol to excuse their behavior
Uses phrases like “I’ll show you who is boss,” “I’ll put you in line”