Do you think verbal abuse can cause as much damadge as physical if not more?
Yes, I believe that, short of life threatening abuse, it can be just as damaging… if not more so. You see… a person who has been hit KNOWS that action is not condoned by the law and/or by the general public. However, the person who is verbally abused, emotionally damaged, or neglected may not be able to either identify a specific action by the abuser or relay the problem to another in a way that elicits a helpful response. Believe it or not, even a person who is drowning in abuse may not feel it is actually abuse unless he/she can identify an action or behavior that is specifically “wrong” or “unjust.” Just being “unkind” doesn’t seem strong enough reason to an abused person to label the action as abuse. And the line between “unkind” and “abusive” in the case of verbal abuse, etc, can be pretty obscure. For that reason, a person can live with and adjust to life in an abusive situation. The problem here is that a person begins to get a mixed up opinion about what is “OK” and what is
