“He will want you all to himself. He will glare at other men for looking at you and question you about your male friends. You may think this jealousy is cute, or even loving — at first. But soon, he’ll make you feel guilty for spending time with friends or family. He will call or text you several tim…”— Pamela Jacobs, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Cheating, Flirting, Jealousy
“Sexual manipulation. Your partner emotionally manipulates you into sexual activities you don’t like. They may even emotionally armtwist you by saying things like ‘Other girls/guys do it! Why can’t you?’”— Natalia Avdeeva, lovepanky.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, manipulation, peer pressure, Sex
“You get subtle nonverbal threats. Sometimes it can be by a look or a gesture that shows they don’t approve of what you’re doing.”— Alexandra Whittaker, rd.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Nonverbal, Threats, actions
“You're afraid to tell your partner about a normal happening - your car needs brakes, your boss made you work overtime - because you're not sure how he will react.”— Adriana Velez, thestir.cafemom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Afraid, Fear, private
“He breaks his promises and he fails to follow through on agreements. He minimizes your efforts, interests, hobbies, achievements and concerns. He trivializes your thoughts and suggestions.”— Nancy Nichols, thoughtcatalog.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, promises, Lies, superior
“Your partner tells mean, inappropriate and demeaning jokes, with you as the punch line.”— David Wolfe, davidwolfe.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Jokes, mean, Demeaning
“You feel like you need permission to make decisions or go out somewhere.”— Barrie Davenport, liveboldandbloom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Permission, Allowed
“An emotional abuser will exclude you not only from their heart, from their good will and from their approval, they will also exclude you from their activities. If you feel that your partner is making plans without you, if they are taking part in activities without you and if they are keeping secrets…”— Adam Gilad, vixendaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Excludes, Friends
“An emotional abuser goes through life feeling entitled to be treated like royalty, and wants you to be a willing servant. He or she expects you to do everything and will not help at all.”— Merely Me, healthcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Expectations, Servant, Entitled
“He's petty. If he's the sort of person who makes a mountain out of the proverbial molehill—let's say, when a waitress doesn't put enough ice in his soda—be warned.”— Martha Brockenbrough, womenshealthmag.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Petty, complaints
“They try to control the finances and how you spend money.”— Barrie Davenport, liveboldandbloom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, finances, Control, Money
“Her fender bender wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t called just as she pulled out of the driveway. If you hadn’t asked him to help out more with the kids, he could’ve put in more time at work and gotten that promotion. In fact, mostly everything that goes wrong is your fault.”— Abby Rodman, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Blame, Fault
“He nonsensically reminds you of the hordes of women who are attracted to him to make you believe it is your job to please him and make him happy at all times, lest he finds someone new.”— Christina Berchini, elitedaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Threats, other women
“You feel helpless, like you're trapped in the relationship.”— Adriana Velez, thestir.cafemom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, helpless, trapped
“If your partner tends to ignore you when the two of you are together, but the second you go to your parents' for the weekend they suddenly can't stop blowing up your phone, then you should know that's a serious red flag for an emotionally abusive relationship and partner.”— Elizabeth Enochs, bustle.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Ignoring, Texting
“Threatening to commit suicide if you leave.”— Marni Feuerman, psychcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Threats, Suicide
“Painful comparisons. Your partner constantly compares you, either with your more prettier or successful friends, and tells you how much better than you they are. Your partner may even be subtle and point out to celebrities and tell you how they’re so much more attractive than you.”— Natalia Avdeeva, lovepanky.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, comparisons, celebs
“Seems like everyone is complimenting your new wardrobe, recent weight loss, or latest blogpost. Everyone, that is, except the one person who should be leading the cheering section. Your emotionally abusive partner is far more invested in tearing you down and keeping you down. He really doesn’t want…”— Abby Rodman, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Wardrobe, compliments, Praise
“Alcohol and drug use. Not all abusers use drugs or drink excessive alcohol, but many do. An addiction can lead to erratic and innappropriate behavior. Substance abuse can be a gateway to emotional abuse and an unhealthy relationship.”— Merely Me, healthcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Alcohol, Drugs, unhealthy
“Isolating you from friends and family.”— Marni Feuerman, psychcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Isolation, Friends, Family
“They're so jealous it's Scary. A certain amount of jealousy is pretty normal in most relationships. Having said that, the level of jealous behavior and the reason behind that jealousy does make a difference. It's one thing if your partner gets jealous when someone blatantly hits on you in front of t…”— Elizabeth Enochs, bustle.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Jealous, Jealousy, scary
“Are they unable to laugh at themselves?”— Maria Bogdanos, psychcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Laughter, Sensitive
“Your partner constantly calls, texts or even shows up to check up on you to see who you are with and what you’re doing when he or she isn’t around.”— David Wolfe, davidwolfe.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, calls, texts
“An emotional abuser doesn’t want to hear about your pain, except to reinforce that you deserve whatever pain you feel. That you’ve brought it on yourself, or that it’s your deserved destiny to feel bad about yourself. If your partner indicates they have no time to talk about what worries, scares or…”— Adam Gilad, vixendaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Pain, worries, Fear
“Your partner blames you for his or her problems, bad moods and overall unhappiness.”— David Wolfe, davidwolfe.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Unhappy, blaming, Bad Mood
“Withholding important information.”— Natasha Tracy, healthyplace.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Withholding, Secrets
“He's pushy. While this might be done under the guise of "sweeping you off your feet," guys who push for too much too soon can be trouble. He should care more about your boundaries than his desires.”— Martha Brockenbrough, womenshealthmag.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Pushy, Too Fast, boundaries
“Your self-esteem has taken a hit. If your partner consistently puts you down and doesn’t value your thoughts, he or she could damage your self-esteem.”— Alexandra Whittaker, rd.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Self-Esteem, self-conscious
“Do they have trouble apologizing?”— Maria Bogdanos, psychcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Apologies, forgiveness
“He pushes for quick involvement. He comes on strong, claiming, 'I've never felt loved like this before by anyone.' You get pressured for an exclusive commitment almost immediately.”— Wendy Kay, yourtango.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Commitment, pressure