Emotional Abuse and its Effects on Children
“Stupid IV” by LauraLewis23 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
While it can be easy to identify when your child is going through physical abuse, emotional abuse is another form of abuse that can have equally harmful damages on your child but may be hard to identify. Emotional abuse, also known as psychological abuse, is the pattern of behaviors that can damage a child’s self-esteem, emotional development, how they look at themselves and the world around them. Emotional abuse with children may include name-calling, belittling, threatening, criticizing, bullying, shaming, humiliation, neglect, rejection or insult, etc.
The impacts of emotional abuse on children
Emotional abuse and neglect in children can cause a wide variety of psychological consequences. It can make a child feel isolated, afraid, distrust others that can cause lifelong emotional disturbances such as educational difficulties, depression, self-esteem issues, trouble maintaining or forming relationships, etc.
It can impair how your child’s brain functions and can negatively impact memory, self-control, learning, the ability to look at situations from a different perspective and paying attention, etc. Children may also develop post-traumatic stress, where they may experience the impacts of abuse even later in life, engaging in behaviors such as guilt, shame, being startled easily, ignoring people or places, irritability, or extreme mood changes.
It can have physical consequences. A child becomes susceptible to a wide variety of diseases such as high blood pressure, heart problems, functional limitations, migraines, strokes, chronic fatigue, etc.
What are the signs that your child might be impacted by emotional abuse?
A child undergoing emotional abuse may show some or all of the following behaviors.
- Low self-esteem and a negative view of oneself and saying things like “I’m stupid,” “I’m worthless,” “I hate myself,” etc.
- Declining performance at school and inability to pay attention.
- Being desperate at seeking attention and approval from others.
- Having self-harming tendencies and wanting to hurt themselves or others.
- Worrying too much and showing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- Having a hard time forming relationships with others and experiencing other problems in social life.
- Increased bouts of sadness, crying, or a general loss in activities they once enjoyed.
- Seeming emotionally immature in comparison to peers.
- Frequent complaints about headaches, digestion, migraines, or bladder problems.
- Avoidance of certain situations such as refusing to go to school, or outside with friends.
- Exhibiting sudden changes in speech, such as stuttering.
What to do if you suspect your child is emotionally abused?
If you are worried that your child may be getting emotionally abused, the best thing you can do is intervene to get to the roots of the abuse and get your child adequate help. You can try the following activities.
- Maintain a healthy relationship with your child and offer them love and attention. Talk to them about their concerns and keep being supportive. Frequently ask them if they are having any problems and if something is stressing them out.
- Don’t respond in anger, and make sure your behavior is lenient enough for your child to open up about any concerns.
- Keep a note of concerns you have with your child’s behavior. Note down if your child is showing some negative recurring behavioral patterns.
- Keep a check on other professionals who contact your child, such as teachers, babysitters, or other health inspectors. Evaluate them to make sure they are not negatively impacting your child and see whether they also experience some concerns with the child.
- If you experience the symptoms with someone else’s child, contact child protection services so the matter can be professionally dealt with.
- If the symptoms start to get severe, get in touch with a mental health professional. Bringing your child to therapy can help stop and reverse the consequences of abuse and help your child evade several physical and psychological damages in their life to come.
“Tenderness” by _Monica__ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
