The Effects of Emotional Abuse on an Individual

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A persons emotions influence every aspect of ones lives. Especially when you’re a child, your emotions are vulnerable to every interaction they receive. When these emotions are beaten down and destroyed continuously, a common name for this is abuse. For example, Dee, a young married women, was emotionally abused everyday by her husband. He treated her as more of a servant than a wife and she eventually hated her life. She became depressed and eventually contemplated suicide. It wasn’t until then that she considered getting help (YWCA Mohawk Valley, 2014). Approximately one third of Canadians have experienced child abuse (CBC Radio, 2014) and approximately 8% of Canadians experience depression (Mood Disorders Society of Canada, 2009)? This is normally an uncommon conversation topic in today’s society because most people do not like to talk about it. The statistics above are connected; many people who experience abuse are prone to mental illness. When a child has been physically abused, there are noticeable bruises, or other effects on the person. On the other hand, most people do not recognize or even know the effects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can deeply wound a child, and as the child grows, the scars will remain; the scars that people do not see that can cause a lifetime of suffering. These invisible scars can affect a person’s development as they struggle to accept themselves from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Emotional abuse negatively impacts an individual’s self-esteem, which can in turn, cause depression and substance abuse later in adulthood.
Experiencing emotional abuse as a child can lead to a decrease in self-esteem as an adolescent. Many parents do not know the difference betwee...

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Lowenthal, B. (n.d.) “Child Maltreatment: Effects on Development and Learning”. Retrieved from http://ecap.crc.illinois.edu/pubs/katzsym/lowenthal.html
McLeod, S. A. (2008). “Erik Erikson”. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik- Erikson.html
Mood Disorders Society of Canada. (2009). “Quick facts: Mental illness & addiction in Canada”. Retrieved from http://www.mooddisorderscanada.ca/documents/Media%20Room/Quick%20Facts%203r d%20Edition%20Eng%20Nov%2012%2009.pdf
Szalavitz, M. (2012). “How child abuse primes the brain for future mental illness”. Retrieved from http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/15/how-child-abuse-primes-the-brain-for- future-mental-illness/
YWCA Mohawk Valley. (2014) “Healing the Trauma of Emotional Abuse: A Survivor’s Story”. Retrieved from http://ywcamv.org/healing-the-trauma-of-emotional-abuse-a-survivors- story/

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