Every single day, many people in Florida both get married and get divorced. Marriages end for many different reasons and some are amicable while others are tense and emotional. Unfortunately, some relationships go on long after they should have ended because one partner is abusive to the other. Physical abuse is not the only form of violence, and emotional abuse is often used to control one spouse or partner. Medical News Today provides you with some signs that you might be in an emotionally abusive relationship.
Emotional abuse often starts with control, which is usually a red flag in any type of relationship. Controlling behavior may include constant monitoring of your location, complete financial control of your money or expecting immediate responses from text or calls. An emotionally abusive spouse may also use fears or yelling to control the behavior of another.
Shame is another part of emotional abuse and is an attempt to make one partner feel worse about their shortcomings. Shame comes in the form of lies, walkouts, outbursts, lectures and trivializing.
Blame is another part of emotional abuse. Blame can manifest in jealousy for imagined infractions or cheating, one spouse playing the victim and blaming the other for being the problem or egging the person on to get one spouse angry. At this point, the abusive spouse often blames the abused for getting upset.
Humiliation is another type of emotional abuse. This can come through sarcasm or joking, blatant name-calling, public displays, harmful nicknames, insults on your appearance, cheating or patronizing.
Finally, many emotionally abusive spouses try to isolate the other. They may hide your car keys, stop you from spending time with friends and family, make fun of your friends and family or take up all your free time. In some cases, they may go as far to lock you in the house so you cannot engage with another person.
This is for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as legal advice.