Emotional and Psychological Abuse

Emotional abuse, like all forms of domestic violence, is about the abuser keeping power and control over the victim. It involves things the abuser says or does to scare you, control you, hurt your feelings, or cut you off from others. It often includes verbal abuse, like yelling at you, insulting you, calling you names, or threatening you or someone you love.

Emotional abuse may not involve physical harm, but it can still cause serious damage. Over time, it can change how you think about yourself. It can hurt your self-esteem and make you feel dependent on the abuser.

Examples of emotional abuse include:

• putting you down or criticizing you;
• calling you names like “stupid,” “disgusting,” or “worthless;”
• trying to confuse you or make you feel like you’re going crazy;
• acting like s/he is better than you;
• saying abuse is your fault or pretending it didn’t happen or that it wasn’t so bad;
• the abuser threatening to hurt himself/herself, you, your pet, or someone you love;
• breaking your things on purpose;
• keeping you away from family and friends;
• controlling what you do, where you go, or who you talk to;
• being very jealous or accusing you of cheating; and
• checking up on you constantly.

You can learn more about different forms of emotional abuse in our Forms of Emotional and Psychological Abuse section.