Review: Well-written, highly accurate portrayal
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2013
This short story is a highly accurate, well-written portrayal of how a sociopathic man gains power and control over a woman. It's not true that all she had to do was leave. It's not that easy, and that is blaming the victim. As a mental health therapist, I have worked with abused women, who often fall into a pattern of learned helplessness that prevents them from leaving.The concept of learned helplessness is illustrated by laboratory experiments in which the bottom of the cage delivers a shock to a mouse. At first, the animal can hop up onto a shelf to escape the shock. However, when the shelf is removed, the mouse will jump around for a few minutes but eventually just lie down and give up. That's exactly what it is like for women in abusive relationships. One of my clients told me it was easier to just get hit than to try to resist, because fighting back only made her get beaten harder.The abuser purposefully removes all the victim's support systems by isolating her from friends and family, controlling her money, etc. It is extremely difficult for women to return to normal after such an experience. In fact, abused women often develop posttraumatic stress disorder, which compounds learned helplessness.By illustrating the process through which an abuser dominates a woman, Trapped in an Abusive Relationship may very well help someone avoid or escape  an abusive relationship. Kudos to Tonya Thomas for writing about a social problem that affects one in four women in the U.S. and takes the lives of three women every day.