Psychological abuse is a pattern of behavior that is used to control, intimidate, confuse, isolate, or undermine another person. Examples include:
- threats
- humiliation
- manipulation
- gaslighting
- intimidation
- monitoring
- isolation
- making someone question their memory, judgment, or reality
Psychological abuse often involves power and control rather than physical force. Because psychological abuse is often not physical, it can leave invisible scars. As you were growing up, many people who could have intervened never did because there were no visible signs of psychological abuse. This is extremely unfortunate because psychological abuse can cause great harm even if there is no physical harm.
Psychological abuse can make it difficult to trust yourself, feel safe, make decisions, or know what is real. It often leaves lasting effects on self-esteem, identity, relationships, and emotional stability.
This page is part of the What Counts as Abuse? section of the CommuniDID site, which helps readers evaluate past experiences and understand why confusion about abuse is common.
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