Tuesday 3 October 2017

The Problem with Yelling

a blog post for World of Psychology by Hilary Jacobs Hendel

“The problem with verbal abuse is there is no evidence,” Marta shared. She came for help with a long-standing depression.

“What do you mean lack of evidence?” I asked.

“When people are physically or sexually abused it’s concrete and real. But verbal abuse is amorphous. I feel like if I told someone I was verbally abused, they’d think I was just complaining about being yelled at,” Marta explained.

“It’s much more than that,” I confirmed.

“Much more,” she said.

“The problem is no one can see my scars.” She knew intuitively that her depression, anxiety, and deep-seated insecurity were scars that stemmed from the verbal abuse she endured.

“I wish I was beaten,” Marta shared on more than one occasion. “I’d feel more legitimate.”

Her statement was haunting and brought tears to my eyes.

Continue reading

As with all World of Psychology blog posts the basic read is quite short but exploring the links, especially related reads, can keep you occupied for quite a while.


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