Each one of us has gone through an abusive relationship at some point of our life. But rarely do we realize or fail to notice unless we have been assaulted physically. We usually try to see the cause and effect in a relationship, to justify whether it is abusive or not. However, it is hard to notice the cause and effect in situations which involve verbal abuse.

When we talk of verbal abuse, some of us do not realize the intensity to which it harms an individual’s soul. Some women do not even realize the fact that they are being verbally abused. Verbal abusers are usually men who look very charming, delightful and often in their best in public. The victims are usually children and women. In some cases, there are also women who are violent abusers.

Some might categorize this sort of violent behavior as a part of physical abuse, but identifying the two abuses together would be wrong for the former needs to be dealt with as much seriousness as the latter. When someone is being abused verbally, no bruises or blows can be noticed, for words are used to denigrate her personality which leaves a deep scar on her soul that is not visible. Very often it is difficult to identify if a person is in a verbally abused relationship.

In such a relationship, the victim is insulted and is very often targeted by calling names, angry outburst, screaming rages, sarcasm and cool indifference, which causes psychological violence and an attempt, is made to destroy the spirit of being of the victim. This usually affects the behavior of the victim, who, sort of becomes very timid.

However, calling names and other verbal abuses are very often dismissed as a joke. But it can no longer be laughed off as a joke, when it amounts to insult, and hurting the sentiments of a person. The abusers usually refuse to see the victim’s point of view and the victims are usually forced to think of themselves the way he wants her to think.

The abuser, either for fear of losing his grip on the victim, abuses her so as to gain a psychological control over the latter by creating confusion, emotional pain and mental anguish, which leaves the victim emotionally battered and miserable, contrast to physical abuse, where the victims are battered and wounded which heals with time.

Children are the worst affected in such cases. In a fit of rage, you might have called them ‘worthless, good for nothing, stupid etc’, but do you realized the amount of emotional pain you are subjecting them to, which might leave a permanent scar on their soul for the rest of their lives.

Verbal abuse is one of the most extreme forms of abuses which generally makes the victim feel low, depressed, stress, and with a low self esteem. It also deters their confidence level. Also, the victims are always made to feel that they are at fault and that’s why they are always being abused.

Thus, it is a subtle and insidious form of all abuses, which should be dealt with grave seriousness as it causes mental destruction of an individual.