“He will be very concerned about you. He may get upset if you don’t call him back right away or if you come home late. He will say it’s because he worries about you. He will start to question who you saw, where you went, and what you were doing. He will mask his control as concern for your well-being…”— Pamela Jacobs, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Concerned, Control, Decisions
“He refuses to listen, he ignores your questions, he withholds eye contact and he gives you the ‘silent treatment.’ He’s punishing you!”— Nancy Nichols, thoughtcatalog.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Ignoring, Silent Treatment, punishment
“An abuser will often use gifts and romance to distract you from other concerning behaviors, such as control and jealousy.”— Pamela Jacobs, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Control, Jealousy, gifts
“They throw objects around you. Throwing and breaking things is a violent act, even if nothing is thrown directly at you.”— Alexandra Whittaker, rd.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, violent, Damage, physical
“Making an individual fear that they will not receive the food or care they need.”— Natasha Tracy, healthyplace.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Fear, food, Care
“He’s the guy who does not leave your dorm/apartment/home when you’ve asked him to. The same goes for the guy who shows up to your home when you have explicitly asked him not to. None of this is cute or endearing. It is offensive and an abuse of your boundaries.”— Christina Berchini, elitedaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, disrespect, boundaries, Offensive
“He's resentful. People like this aren't able to deal with the fact that life can sometimes be tough and unfair. They dwell on the injustice. Their resentment is a self-defense mechanism, masking a fear of inadequacy or failure.”— Martha Brockenbrough, womenshealthmag.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Resentful, Fear, Self-Defense
“When you complain do they say that ‘it was just a joke’ and that you are too sensitive?”— Maria Bogdanos, psychcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Sensitive, Overreacting
“He steers the conversation by refusing to discuss an issue or he inappropriately interrupts the conversation. He twists your words, he watches TV, or he walks out of the room while you’re talking. He criticizes you in a way that causes you to defend yourself and lose sight of the original conversati…”— Nancy Nichols, thoughtcatalog.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Conversation, Confusion
“Sometimes an emotional abuser will deliberately lie to you to confuse you and make you doubt your perceptions. They will make you doubt their own observations, memory and sanity. Sometimes they will argue and wear you down until you don’t trust what you know is true.”— Adam Gilad, vixendaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Lies, Memories, Insanity
“You’re really sad about putting your dog down, your uncle’s illness, or losing that road race. You could really use a shoulder to cry on. But you know you can’t rely on your partner for that. In order to stay in control, emotional abusers need your focus to be on them. Their tolerance for your woes…”— Abby Rodman, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Control, upset
“They withhold sex as a way to manipulate and control.”— Barrie Davenport, liveboldandbloom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Sex, manipulation, Control
“Your partner’s behavior and attitude confuses you. At times, they may be extremely loving and caring. And at other times, they’re really mean and hurtful. You just can’t predict how they’ll react to anything you do.”— Natalia Avdeeva, lovepanky.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Confusion, mixed signals, Hurtful
“If you are in an emotionally abusive relationship, there is a good chance that eventually things may get physical. At first, the abuser might pull your hair, push you, or grab you so hard that you bruise; these may only be warning signs that things can escalate further.”— Merely Me, healthcentral.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, physical, Violence, Warning Signs
“When you ask him a question about his intentions, does he stutter? Does he talk around the question? It takes approximately zero seconds to communicate the truth. It takes a little longer than that to come up with a passable lie or excuse. Interpret stuttering and dancing around questions for what t…”— Christina Berchini, elitedaily.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Communicate, Liar
“You no longer want to bring your significant other around your friends or family because you're afraid he will berate you and humiliate you in front of your loved ones.”— Adriana Velez, thestir.cafemom.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Humiliate, Jokes, Making Fun
“Socially isolating an individual, failing to let them have visitors.”— Natasha Tracy, healthyplace.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, Isolation, Captive
“There are rigid gender roles in the relationship. He expects you to serve, obey and remain at home.”— Wendy Kay, yourtango.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, gender roles, gender
“If your partner is exhibiting inappropriate behavior with people outside of your relationship as a way to control you, punish you, or dictate your relationship, then they are emotionally abusing you and breaking your trust at the same time.”— Elizabeth Enochs, bustle.comTagged: Emotional Abuse, affair, Cheating, Control