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Normalising Covert Abuse
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”.
Yeh right.
I think this figurative expression has had an effect on our society’s view that physical abuse should take precedent over non-physical abuse because words don’t hurt as much. That violence should take precedence over verbal abuse is another misappropriation. It is just easier for people to see and prove physical abuse.
A man beating you with a stick or a fist is more obvious and can hopefully be stopped. But a person using words to destroy can go unnoticed. We often beat ourselves up internally because of words we heard in our youth. Physical abuse affects your physical body. Verbal abuse affects your emotional body. When done by the people closest to you it permeates to your heart and soul.
Verbal abuse is subjective depending on how the person receiving the words perceive their meaning and intent but the intent is still there. People think if a person only had a thick skin they would be able to withstand them and so they shouldn’t be taken as a real form of abuse…but then why say them. The intent is there to hurt. Back-handed compliments can be a bit confusing but gaslighting can destroy a person’s very reality.
Obviously in the short term if a person is receiving physical harm then it may require first aid or…
