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Unlike physical abuse, being emotionally abused doesn't leave you with visible scars or bruises
that can be easy to detect.
In the U.S., every ten seconds, a report of child abuse is made.
That means on a yearly basis, this involves more than 6.6 million children who are affected.
Emotional abuse weakens the individual's emotional development and sense of self-worth that can
have lifelong damaging effects.
Here are 10 signs of emotional abuse from parents.
One; you experience random emotional outbursts.
Do you tear up easily or find it hard to control your emotions?
When the child grows up in an environment where they were constantly reprimanded or
had their emotional needs neglected, they're more likely to experience their emotions in
extremes.
This makes it difficult to achieve self-composure.
They may demonstrate high spirits when they get validation from others, but hit rock-bottom
at the snap of a finger when they aren't getting the attention or support they crave.
Two; you are overly affectionate to strangers...
or you're super kind to people you haven't known for a long time.
People who never received unconditional love from their parents will try to make up for
the cruelty they grew up with by nurturing others instead.
They never want someone else to experience the same trauma as they did, so practicing
empathy comes naturally to them.
Three; you are aggressive toward others and animals.
On the contrary, some children with emotionally abusive parents connect hostile toward their
classmates and treat animals poorly.
As a result of internalizing the abuse, they may imitate their parents harsh treatment
and lash out on others.
Victims of emotional abuse always felt things were out of their control, so they try to
make up for it by doing the opposite, being the emotional abusers themselves.
Four; you have little to no friends.
Do you isolate yourself from others or feel painfully shy around new faces?
Children who are emotionally abused will often lack the proper social skills they need to
form connections.
Consequently, they may either find themselves in toxic relationships often mistaking them
for normal ones or avoid commitment altogether in fear of getting hurt again.
Five; you aren't confident about your future.
Victims of emotional abuse often grew up with parents who criticized and belittled them
and dismissed their feelings.
As a result, they're likely to grow up being pessimistic.
This can prevent them from going after their dreams as they run away from their true potential.
Six; you constantly repress your emotions.
Parents who emotionally abuse their kids do not create a safe space where it made them
feel OK to cry.
Instead, their kids might have grown up in fear, afraid of doing something that would
upset or anger their parents.
Consequently, like brave little soldiers, at a young age, they learned to bottle up
their feelings for survival.
It's no big deal they might say, and may grow up resorting to drugs and alcohol as a poor
coping mechanism.
Seven; you don't know who you are.
Do you struggle with establishing a strong identity or often feel like you're stuck in
limbo?
If you grew up with parents who are controlling and emotionally manipulative, they've raised
you to be codependent.
As a result, you never had full control over your own life and in shaping your own identity.
Eight; you often seek validation from others.
Victims of emotional abuse usually lack self-confidence.
In order to make up for those feelings of worthlessness, they may take great measures
such as people-pleasing in order to feel loved and appreciated, whether it means putting
on a facade on social media or making up white lies just to stay on someone's good side.
This can cause them to struggle with authenticity.
Nine; you're highly self-critical.
Did your parents put a lot of pressure on you as a child?
When you are expected to reach high unrealistic expectations, you may not feel like you're
good enough if you aren't always working yourself to the bone.
You may also end up becoming a perfectionist and not allow yourself to be human.
Ten; you experience a lot of guilt.
Children with emotionally abusive parents can grow up with guilt issues.
When they try to establish boundaries and seek emotional support from others, their
parents may guilt trip them into isolating themselves; "Oh, looks like you've forgotten
about me..." or "don't you love me?" are phrases to watch out for.
Were you a victim of emotional abuse or know someone who was? We encourage our community
members to be vulnerable. Tell your story today.
If you'd like to make a difference, be sure to share this video as well to spread awareness.
Thanks for watching!