by Amy Sherman.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a reminder that we must attend to this insidious, horrendous problem for many women and men around the world. I ran a domestic abuse program for six years and understand how certain behaviors can destroy the self-esteem and character of those caught in the terrible cycle of abuse.
See if this statement resonates on some level:
“I am weak. You are a witness to my weakness. You are the cause of my weakness. I must punish you for seeing this and causing this in me. I will use power to make you suffer, so I will feel stronger. I must find a way to make the punishment seem reasonable. I will look for things to blame you for, to punish you, so I may feel more powerful, stronger and forget that I feel so weak. I will feel stronger by making you feel weak. And yet, I love, need and want you.”
This is the mindset of an abuser. It is how they think and how they feel. To prevent yourself from getting caught in this situation, be aware of the following red flags. Please note that these are common patterns in abusive people and are only meant to make you cautious and alert to the warning signs.Warning Signs
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