Abuse
Abuse can be broadly defined as mistreatment by others that results in harm to us. Abuse comes in many forms, such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, mental or psychological abuse, or neglect. There are many different responses to abuse. Some people become anxious, others become depressed. One thing that tends to occur is that anger is felt towards the abuser, but the anger is then immediately blocked or avoided. Why? Because the person who abused us is often someone we love and someone we wanted love from. Abuse is therefore often a severe form of betrayal. We tend to have conflicted or “mixed” feelings toward the abuser. Abuse often negatively affects our relationships later in life. Working though our original feelings of anger, guilt about the anger, and grief over the fact that we did not receive love from the person who abused us tends to be very beneficial. In therapy, I try to help clients isolate their mixed feelings one at a time in order to help the healing process.