|
Home::Depression
How Victims are Affected by Abuse
Author : Sam Vaknin
Repeated abuse has long lasting pernicious and traumatic effects such as panic attacks, hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, flashbacks (intrusive memories), suicidal ideation, and psychosomatic symptoms. The victims experience shame, depression, anxiety, embarrassment, guilt, humiliation, abandonment, and an enhanced sense of vulnerability.
In "Stalking - An Overview of the Problem" (Can J Psychiatry 1998;43:473476), authors Karen M Abrams and Gail Erlick Robinson write:
"Initially, there is often much denial by the victim. Over time, however, the stress begins to erode the victims life and psychological brutalization results. Sometimes the victim develops an almost fatal resolve that, inevitably, one day she will be murdered. Victims, unable to live a normal life, describe feeling stripped of self-worth and dignity. Personal control and resources, psychosocial development, social support, premorbid personality traits, and the severity of the stress may all influence how the victim experiences and responds to it ... Victims stalked by ex-lovers may experience additional guilt and lowered self-esteem for perceived poor judgement in their relationship choices. Many victims become isolated and deprived of support when employers or friends withdraw after also being subjected to harassment or are cut off by the victim in order to protect them. Other tangible consequences include financial losses from quitting jobs, moving, and buying expensive security equipment in an attempt to gain privacy. Changing homes and jobs results in both material losses and loss of self-respect."
Surprisingly, verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse have the same effects as the physical variety (Psychology Today, September/October 2000 issue, p.24). Abuse of all kinds also interferes with the victim's ability to work. Abrams and Robinson wrote this (in "Occupational Effects of Stalking", Can J Psychiatry 2002;47:468472):
"... (B)eing stalked by a former partner may affect a victims ability to work in 3 ways. First, the stalking behaviours often interfere directly with the ability to get to work (for example, flattening tires or other methods of preventing leaving the home). Second, the workplace may become an unsafe location if the offender decides to appear. Third, the mental health effects of such trauma may result in forgetfulness, fatigue, lowered concentration, and disorganization. These factors may lead to the loss of employment, with accompanying loss of income, security, and status."
Still, it is hard to generalize. Victims are not a uniform lot. In some cultures, abuse is commonplace and accepted as a legitimate mode of communication, a sign of love and caring, and a boost to the abuser's self-image. In such circumstances, the victim is likely to adopt the norms of society and avoid serious trauma.
Deliberate, cold-blooded, and premeditated torture has worse and longer-lasting effects than abuse meted out by the abuser in rage and loss of self-control. The existence of a loving and accepting social support network is another mitigating factor. Finally, the ability to express negative emotions safely and to cope with them constructively is crucial to healing.
Typically, by the time the abuse reaches critical and all-pervasive proportions, the abuser had already, spider-like, isolated his victim from family, friends, and colleagues. She is catapulted into a nether land, cult-like setting where reality itself dissolves into a continuing nightmare.
When she emerges on the other end of this wormhole, the abused woman (or, more rarely, man) feels helpless, self-doubting, worthless, stupid, and a guilty failure for having botched her relationship and "abandoned" her "family". In an effort to regain perspective and avoid embarrassment, the victim denies the abuse or minimizes it.
No wonder that survivors of abuse tend to be clinically depressed, neglect their health and personal appearance, and succumb to boredom, rage, and impatience. Many end up abusing prescription drugs or drinking or otherwise behaving recklessly.
Some victims even develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at samvak.tripod.com
Spam emails More free articles Related articles
|
More related feeds |
How Victims Are Affected By Abuse
Repeated abuse has long lasting pernicious and traumatic effects such as panic attacks, hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, flashbacks (intrusive memories), suicidal ideation, and psychosomatic symptoms. The victims experience shame, ...Duncan victims, Shasta & Dylan Groene, Haut de la Garenne, and ...
Since February of this year, Donchais has been covering another abuse and potential murder story, involving scores of children on Jersey in the Channel Islands. It goes back decades - it's the story of Haut de la Garenne and the ... WITHERSPOON SPEAKS OUT ON DOMESTIC ABUSE.
And Witherspoon is hoping her involvement will help stamp out the abuse of women - insisting she herself has been close to people who were the victims of domestic violence. She told reporters in Sao Paulo on Thursday (28Aug08), ... Victims Compensation Fund Now Available to Children
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that those physically affected by a violent crime aren’t always the only victims,” said Assemblyman Mark Leno who championed the bill through the Assembly. “Children who live in our tough neighborhoods and ... Satanic Ritual Abuse Researcher/Investigator Sues “Dr.” Michael ...
McCulley, I believe he did more for ritual abuse victims than anyone in this country. In 2000, he self-published a book, “Multiple Exposure,” about some of the parties named, but he used pseudonyms throughout in efforts to avoid a libel ... Breaking the Silence to Aid Victims of Family Violence
But her book, “Escape from Despair: A Croatian Family’s Survival,” is not only a story of ghastly abuse. It is the story of a family - its customs, its members’ personalities and the ways the larger society affected this family. ... RIGHTS-PARAGUAY: President Apologises to Victims of Dictatorship
Torture was ”the main instrument of social control used by the military regime,” and mainly affected members of political parties and social movements, especially peasant farmers, says the report. ”We want to specifically underscore the ... Boys and the Boy Crisis
Further, the propagation of this gender oriented view of domestic abuse permeates the law enforcement and justice system in a way that views men as perpetrators and women as victims. Causing male victims of abuse to not even recognize ... Atlanta Archbishop Gregory to Testify Tuesday in Sex Abuse Case ...
Margaret Mensen, the administrator of the review board, testified Monday that she believed the diocese would turn over any file they thought contained information about abuse or about potential victims. Under cross examination ... Diocese Sex Abuse Scandal Settlement May Bring Help to Victims
Many of the people who took the Diocese to court said St. Elizabeth’s Rectory is where a lot of the abuse went on. In fact, there is a group of victims and family members who have asked the Bishop to demolish the rectory. ...
|
|
|
