One of the most potent forms is psychological abuse, which is the gradual attack against the mind of another by a perpetrator who is in constant contact with the victim. Contrary to the popular belief that psychological abuse merely engenders psychic stress, many studies show that a victim s physical well-being is actually impaired by it. Psychological abuse is a multi-faceted phenomenon. It could be verbal, emotional, and economic. Even physical and sexual abuse have psychological components.
Most victims experience abuse repeatedly.
One startling finding is that quite a lot of victims either do not know that they are being abused or refuse to acknowledge that the abuse is going on. Most of them live in a state of denial and may themselves become irritable and hostile, depressed and withdrawn. An emotionally abusive partner often plays games with the victim's mind. He may tell her how to dress, how to wear her hair, how to clean their house and may decide whether she can go to the store. Often the abuser monopolizes his partner by isolating her from friends and family, making their unhealthy relationship the center of her universe.