What is Psychological Violence?

Psychological violence; Emotional violence, also known as emotional abuse or psychological abuse, is a type of violence defined as one person (person or group) showing behavior such as humiliating, swearing, isolating, threatening, constantly criticizing another, wanting to upset their psychology, and weakening their skills. Although physical violence comes to everyone’s mind first when it comes to violence, psychological violence is a form of violence that is quite common, difficult to detect, and for which sanctions are more limited.

Psychological violence threatens a person’s spiritual, physical and mental health. Unlike physical violence, in psychological violence, the person exposed to violence does not feel physical pain. It is seen that the purpose of the person who uses violence is to humiliate the other party and somehow isolate them from the environment or society in which they live. It is very difficult to understand the limits of psychological violence. Psychological violence may often seem unimportant and go unnoticed when compared to forms of violence with obvious symptoms, such as physical violence or sexual violence. For this reason, many victims of psychological violence may not realize the violence they have suffered for a very long time, perhaps even throughout their lives. One of the biggest reasons for this may be that psychological violence is not visible and has somehow been normalized by society.

The dimensions of psychological violence can sometimes have greater effects on individuals than physical violence. Depending on the violence, the person is constantly emotionally abused with intense emotions. For this reason, the most accurate definition of psychological violence is emotional abuse. Even though the person who is emotionally abused is unaware of the situation, he or she may begin to feel intense negative emotions. Individuals who are exposed to psychological violence, especially from an early age, may show serious problem behaviors. For this reason, it is of great importance to receive professional mental health support when psychological violence is noticed.

Causes of Psychological Violence

The causes of psychological violence can be quite complex and multifaceted, as they are linked to the life of the person who commits violence. Understanding the causes of violence is very important in order to get rid of violence and determine intervention methods. Let’s examine the causes of psychological violence under the following headings:

1. Individual’s Need for Power and Control:The need for power and control is one of the most common characteristics of people who show psychological violence. The perpetrator of violence may try to manipulate his low self-esteem by inflicting emotional violence on another person or persons. He may direct his need for control to the other party in order to make his partner, friend or sometimes his child dependent on him and to manipulate his life under his own control.
2. Power Struggle:It can be observed as a need for some people in society to want to be powerful in their environment. Thus, in environments that require power or competition, people may engage in a power struggle to achieve this. Depending on the person’s communication skills, this struggle may, over time, extend to the use of emotional violence against those around him in order to survive.
3. Emotional Problems:A person’s existing mental disorders can have an impact on their behavior. People with anxiety, personality disorders, and depression experience sudden emotional changes. In such situations, they may develop negative emotions in order to reassure those around them. This can become an emotional therapy for them. Thus, the person may not hesitate to resort to psychological violence in order to feel better.
4. Learned Behaviors:Some people may have learned violence as a form of behavior through their negative life experiences in childhood. They may have been exposed to violence from their families or close circle and turned this into behavior. Thus, for a person, ignoring someone else’s feelings can be a way of being.
5. Cultural Factors:Social truths or cultural teachings may affect the prevalence of psychological violence. Groups that are not accepted in society, gender inequality, customs and traditions may cause some groups to consider themselves superior. This may lead to an increase in all types of violence, including psychological violence.

Symptoms of Psychological Violence

Continuous exposure to violent behavior that affects a person’s emotional state causes symptoms of psychological violence after a while. If you are exposed to such a situation, after a while you may start to feel symptoms such as low self-confidence, fear, anxiety and stress. Unless the factors that cause violence are eliminated, mental illnesses may begin to appear after a while due to the intense emotions felt. You may have to struggle with diseases such as anxiety disorder, depression, acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder.

Symptoms of psychological violence in children include almost the same symptoms as psychological ones. In addition, children are more sensitive individuals than adults. For this reason, they may not be able to make sense of events or emotions and take action as much as adults. Instead, they give you clues through changes in their lives or behaviors. For example; It is a clue for parents that the child with high academic success becomes reluctant to go to school or his academic success begins to decrease. It informs you that your child is experiencing a problem at school or in any field and that his/her routine is disrupted for this reason. In such a situation, it is necessary to find the problem and support the child instead of ignoring it.

Situations such as drug and alcohol use may be observed in people trying to cope with intense emotions. If you feel such symptoms, the best way to deal with it is to get support from a specialist mental health doctor or an expert psychologist. You can make an appointment with mental health experts as soon as possible and take a step to get rid of violence. If you would like to meet with a psychologist who is an expert in his field, you can quickly access the online therapy service by making an appointment via the onlinepsikolog.com platform.

What are the Types of Psychological Violence?

Since psychological violence is emotional abuse, there are many types. However, we can list the most commonly known types of psychological violence as follows:

• Isolation:In this type of violence, the person exposed to violence is constantly tried to be isolated from those around him. It is seen that the purpose of the person using violence is to make the individual dependent only on him/her. Over time, it is observed that the victim becomes distant from the family and friends around him and his relationships deteriorate. Thus, after a while, the person exposed to violence begins to feel negative emotions, thinking that the person closest to him is the person committing the violence.
• Ghosting:In this type of violence, the person who commits violence suddenly disappears from the life of the victim, without any reason. In this case, the exposed person may feel an emotional emptiness and experience a spiritual collapse.
• Zombieing:In this type of violence, disappearance is defined as the person who disappeared with this type of violence and tries to re-enter the life of the person who was subjected to violence by suddenly appearing. Thus, the life order of the person exposed to violence is turned upside down again and they are forced to go through an emotionally difficult process.
• Extreme Jealousy:Although the feeling of jealousy is an emotion that can occur in every person, what is meant here can be defined as reducing the quality of life of the person who is subjected to violence due to jealousy and interfering with their relationships. The person who commits violence cannot control the feeling of jealousy. In this way, he may start to emotionally abuse and punish the other person.
• Breadcrumbing:In this type of violence, the unstable behavior of the person committing violence creates a feeling of worthlessness in the person subjected to violence. For example; The person who commits violence suddenly stops talking to the person he is flirting with and then continues talking as if nothing had happened. The person exposed to this situation may experience ups and downs and question himself.
• Stashing:Stashing is mostly seen in bilateral relations. The person who commits violence always wants to hide the relationship. He does not want to be seen with others in society. This situation causes the victim of violence to feel worthless.
• Gaslighting: Mind-blowing is one of the worst types of psychological violence. The person who is subjected to violence is made to constantly question himself. Because of these behaviors, the victim may after a while begin to believe that he/she made up his/her thoughts. Paranoia behaviors can be observed. In this process, the victim becomes completely dependent on the other party. This situation brings with it many negative feelings such as loss of self-confidence and worthlessness.
• Mobbing:The concept of mobbing describes the psychological violence behaviors you are exposed to at work. If you constantly experience problems such as being belittled, humiliated, or insulted, it means that you are exposed to mobbing at your workplace.
• Mansplaning:This type of violence occurs on a gender basis. It refers to all the behaviors exhibited by the opposite sex to belittle women’s ideas in any environment and to constantly suppress them.

Although these are the most well-known and common types of psychological violence, all types of violence such as economic violence, physical violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking and cyber bullying actually include psychological violence. Since the person exposed to violence will experience mood disorders caused by violence, it would not be wrong to say that every type of violence also includes psychological violence.

Ways to Protect Yourself from Psychological Violence

Being protected from psychological violence is very important both for establishing healthy communication relationships and for your spiritual strength. The first step in protecting yourself is to recognize violence and be aware of the behaviors you are exposed to in this regard. Recognizing behaviors that harm you and being aware of your emotions protects you from violence. After you develop awareness, it is important to share the situation with people around you who can support you and to be able to request support. In this way, you will not feel alone in the process and you can increase your capacity to cope with negative emotions.

When you encounter any behavior that includes psychological violence, it is important to maintain your boundaries and not allow it. If you have been exposed to psychological violence for a long time and are now aware of it, you can ask for help from your personal support networks. It is recommended that you get professional support to deal with this. In such a case, you need to meet with a mental health professional to reduce the effects of violence you have been exposed to for a long time. The mental health doctor can determine your condition after the interview and recommend the treatment method that is best for you. Depending on your mental health, medication, psychotherapy, or both may be recommended.

Summary

Psychological violence is a type of violence that negatively affects a person’s spiritual, physical and mental health. Although it is not mentioned as frequently as other types of violence, it is one of the most common types of violence. Because it would not be wrong to say that emotional violence is a type of violence that includes other types of violence. All kinds of violence leave negative traces on a person’s health. For example; Someone who is exposed to physical violence is also indirectly exposed to psychological violence because he will experience emotional trauma during and after being exposed to violence.

People who show psychological violence may have many characteristics. The most common feature of people who commit psychological violence, whose reasons are quite complex, is the need for power and control. Since people with this type of behavior will aim to make you dependent on them, it is very important to be aware of their behavior and protect your boundaries.

As a result, psychological violence is a type of violence that can affect your entire life. It will be beneficial for you to be protected from this violence and to know your support mechanisms. If you are exposed to something like this and feel deterioration in your health, you should consult a mental health professional as soon as possible. In this way, you take the first step to reduce the effects of the violence you are exposed to. In addition, it is very important to increase social awareness by sharing what you know so that not only yourself but also those around you can be aware of this type of violence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the symptoms of psychological violence?

Signs of this type of violence may include behavior such as constant criticism, insults, manipulation, isolation, threats, and humiliation. People exposed to violence can often experience loss of self-confidence, anxiety and depression. Psychological violence has many psychological and physical symptoms on the victim.

How can I protect myself from psychological violence?

It is very important to be aware that you are exposed to psychological violence. If you are exposed to such violence, you can ask for support by telling the situation to the people closest to you and whom you trust. You can contact a mental health professional for professional support.

Who Can I Ask for Support When I Am Exposed to Psychological Violence?

If you are exposed to psychological violence, you can first ask for support from someone close to you and whom you trust. Apart from this, you can apply to get rid of the violence you have been exposed to by calling the Social Service Hotline 183 or law enforcement. You can apply to the nearest Violence Prevention and Monitoring Center (ŞÖNİM).