Even if they never lay a single finger on you, they can still be abusing you.

I write pretty frequently about these topics because they are so damn common and so damn hard to pinpoint (when you’re in it).

I know they say hindsight is 20/20, and, in this case, that’s precisely how it ends up happening. I figure if we can start pushing pins into something that feels otherwise ghostly and intangible, we might be able to keep some of the abuse at bay.

And maybe we won’t necessarily catch it every time, but on those nights when you’re lying in bed, feeling like you are broken, these tools can help guide you (or at least validate you).

Emotional abuse floats in between the lines.

It’s hidden in the subtle, back-handed comments that make you doubt yourself; it’s when you second-guess your worth because of sarcastic remarks that are actually meant to rope you into mental submission.

When you start feeling like you are a “bad” person for not doing something they want, that is manipulation—period. When they shame you for having any shred of self-confidence or constantly make you the subject of their “jokes,” they are slowly eating away at your core; they are emotionally abusing you.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been feeling emotionally abused in some way (or have in the past). Here are some black-and-white indicators of this toxic manipulation tactic:

1. They are overly critical of you.

2. They intentionally humiliate you.

3. They purposefully intimidate you.

4. They mean to isolate you.

5. They make you feel rejected.

6. They want to exploit you.

7. They have a harmful level of control over you.

The video below also gives a wonderful in-depth description of each of these examples.

May it be of benefit: