The effects of verbal abuse on children, women, and men follow the same general principle: verbal abuse causes people to feel fear. However, victims may deny or not recognize their anxiety and feelings of wanting to get away as fear of the abuser.
When the victim feels kindness or love from the abuser, they know that it is short-lived and abuse will reoccur. Victims live in a constant state of hyper-awareness, watching for clues of impending abuse. Victims can't trust the smile of someone they love, and that is a very big deal.
Effects of Verbal and Emotional Abuse
The effects of verbal abuse and emotional abuse intertwine because verbally abusive statements play on the victim's emotions. For example, the simple statement, "You're just looking for a fight!" tells the victim what he's doing and thinking, accuses the victim of attacking the abuser, and diverts the topic to a new problem (avoiding a fight).3
Emotionally, the victim feels misunderstood, unimportant, and afraid of what may happen if he presses the issue. Is this how we want our loved ones to feel?
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