It may include constant criticism, shaming, using humiliation, degrading, ridicule and insults. It also could include inappropriate and excessive demands on a child which results in a lowering of the child's self-esteem. Emotional abuse is typically learned and usually not intentional. It attacks a child's sense of being loved and of belonging. The security of feeling loved and feeling like one belongs is one of our basic needs for survival.
Physical abuse attacks a child's body while emotional abuse attacks the child's spirit.
Over time, emotional abuse can paralyze children physically and psychologically until they lose the ability, or even desire, to stand up for themselves in a healthy manner. From a physical standpoint, children who have been emotionally abused may develop speech disorders or experience delayed physical development. Behaviorally, children may experience habit disorders such as sucking and rocking. Other signs include destructive and anti-social behaviors, sleep disorders, behavioral extremes, phobias, and eventually, they may develop delinquent behaviors. Emotional abuse is especially devastating when there it is a pattern of withholding attention or affection by the parent or care- giver.