Domestic violence or intimate partner violence refers to patterns of behavior in intimate-type relationships in which one person takes over control or feels powerful over the other one. In heterosexual relationships that have domestic violence, men and women can be the abusers. Domestic abuse can include sexual, physical, economic, psychological or emotional behaviors or threats to the intimate partner. If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, there are resources to help. If you are dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues due to domestic violence, our team is here to help.
The Cycle of Abuse
There is a cycle of abuse in many relationships. Generally, if abuse happens one time, it will happen again and can get worse. The beginning stage is when tension starts and builds up. It can be financial, emotional or verbal abuse. Then, the stand-over stage usually presents itself. During this stage, behaviors typically get even worse. The victim starts feeling like they must walk on eggshells. After this comes an explosion. Generally, the abuser will become violent in this stage. They may fake remorse afterward, only to continue the cycle all over again.
Types of Domestic Violence
There are many types of domestic violence such as:
- · Sexual abuse
- · Physical abuse
- · Emotional abuse
- · Verbal abuse
- · Economic abuse
- · Social isolation
- · Spiritual abuse
- · Psychological abuse
- · Child abuse
- · Cyberstalking
- · Stalking
- · Neglect
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can happen in so many ways. It involves unwanted sexual behaviors and contact. It can include:
- · Insults
- · Threats
- · Refusing to wear condoms
- · Restricting access to contraception
- · Rape
- · Attacking someone’s body sexually
- · Physical violence followed by forcible sex
- · Demeaning the victim sexually
- · Telling sexual jokes about or at the victim
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse can also occur in numerous ways. It might include:
- · Biting
- · Slapping
- · Hitting
- · Shoving
- · Battering
- · Pulling hair
- · Cutting
- · Burning
- · Destroying the victim’s property
- · Denying the victim access to medical treatment and/or food
Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse is another type of domestic violence. It can include:
- · Verbal attacks
- · Intimidation
- · Insults
- · Threats
- · Name-calling
- · Humiliation
- · Yelling
Emotional Abuse
Unfortunately, millions of men and women are also emotionally abused. This type of domestic violence can include:
- · Invalidating a person’s feelings, self-worth, and/or self-esteem
- · Constantly criticizing someone
- · Name-calling
- · Interfering with how the victim does things
- · Negatively impacting relationships that the victim has with others
Emotional abuse can be and often is combined with other types of abuse such as mental and sexual abuse. Many times you will hear of emotional abuse and substance abuse cases being linked together due to how damaging emotional abuse can be.
Social Isolation
Social isolation happens when an abuser isolates their victim from friends and family. They may forbid them from having contact with specific people or going to specific places. They may even encourage their victim to move farther away from their friends and family, so they have less access to them. In some cases, the abuser will even prevent the victim from getting or holding a job.
Economic Abuse
Economic abuse happens when an abuser tries to control their victim’s finances such as prohibiting them from going to work, spending money, or from lending money to others. The victim generally must become financially reliant on their abuser.
Psychological Abuse
This type of abuse happens when the abuser tries to intimidate the victim. Some of the ways they do this include:
- · Threatening to harm the victim and/or their family members or friends
- · Threatening to harm the victim’s pets
- · Destroying the victim’s property
- · Isolating the victim from their loved ones and friends
- · Prohibiting the victim from going places without them
- · Treating the victim as an inferior person
- · Questioning how the victim sees or remembers things (gaslighting)
- · Emotionally blackmailing the victim
Spiritual Abuse
Spiritual abuse happens when an abuser ridicules what religion the victim believes in or how they act on cultural beliefs. They may prevent the victim from attending spiritual events, groups or churches.
Child and/or Elder Abuse
When referring to child and/or elder abuse, it means any types of abuse toward children or the elderly.
Neglect
Neglect is any form of failing to provide basic psychological and physical needs to someone such as a child. For example, some parents fail to protect their children from:
- · Physical harm
- · Dangerous situations
- · Preventing them from getting medical treatment
- · Remaining unresponsive to their child’s basic mental and emotional needs
Stalking
Stalking can occur in many ways, as well. It might include:
- · Watching the victim closely
- · Spying on the victim
- · Harassing the victim
- · Showing up to their work and/or home
- · Sending unwanted gifts to the victim
- · Finding out information about the victim
- · Repeating calling or messaging the victim
Cyberstalking
The final form of domestic violence is called cyberstalking. Cyberstalking commonly leads to substance abuse, as well. This type of abuse can occur with repeated emails to the victim, severely causing emotional distress to the victim due to online chats or videos, and/or causing other distress to the victim through online or virtual methods.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence and substance abuse or even just one type of domestic violence or substance abuse, please reach out to our team today to get the help that you need.
Symptoms and Signs of Domestic Violence
How do you know if you or someone that you care about is being abused or if they are in a domestic violence situation? Well, there are generally signs you can spot in others or symptoms you can notice in yourself that may occur. Some of these symptoms and signs of domestic violence include:
- Loved one or friend having “unexplained” injuries
- Fearing their partner
- Losing contact with family and friends
- Behavior is controlled by the abuser
- Saying their partner forces or pressures them into sexual acts
- Chronically fatigued
- Involuntarily shaking, especially when around the abuser
- Sleeping and eating pattern changes
- Feeling hopeless
- Not trusting others
- Feeling discouraged about the future
- Not having motivation or focus
- Depression, anxiety, and/or stress
- PTSD symptoms such as severe anxiety, nightmares
- Substance abuse
These are some of the most common symptoms and signs of domestic violence and substance abuse that you may notice in yourself and/or your loved one. If you do notice these signs of abuse or addiction, please have your loved one or yourself contact our team today to get helpful treatment here in our facility.
Get HELP FOR Substance Abuse and mental health Today
Are you or your loved one in any type of abusive situation? If so, there are so many negative effects that you might be dealing with, but you don’t have to keep living with this all by yourself. You can reach out to our team to get the help, support and treatment needed for your domestic violence and substance abuse case. You can call JourneyPure anytime, 24/7 at 877-958-5354 for help with addiction and mental health disorders, we’re here to help, but we can’t help if you don’t call.
