| Emotional abuse is best avoided by knowing the signs | | | | very specific emotional ease and security that is |
| of emotional abuse. And the best way to know | | | | clearly absent in abusive relationships, as well as in |
| these signs is from the inside out. Read on to learn | | | | encounters with bullies and control freaks. (The latter |
| the inner signs of a potentially dangerous relationship. | | | | term is not a clinical term.) |
| How do you know if this is emotional abuse? How do | | | | 3) The Boa Constrictor Inner Strangulation |
| you know if you are being abused emotionally? You | | | | This is the biggest tell-tale sign of emotional abuse. |
| know from the inside out. | | | | You know this internally, that is from the inside out. |
| Look closely at these three tell-tale emotional abuse | | | | Here's what it feels like: a boa constrictor is wrapped |
| signs and let your awareness of your inner | | | | around the entire length of your spine. And with each |
| experience, relative to each, permeate your entire | | | | passing moment, you experience your in breath |
| being. | | | | constrict and your out breath almost non-existent. |
| 1) Being Called to the Carpet | | | | Need I say any more. When you encounter the boa |
| Emotional abusers have a very unique way of calling | | | | constrictor, you are not yourself for crying out loud. |
| out their disappointments. They do it by calling you to | | | | You may cut off from your very essence, simply to |
| the carpet, where you crawl with your tail between | | | | stay alive. |
| you legs and your stomach in a knot. | | | | Now, I know if you know emotional abuse or have |
| Your mind is all consumed in how you are going to | | | | had the occasion to frequent with a controlling |
| appease and please them that you may not even | | | | person, then you can relate to this internal world as I |
| have time to address their expressed concerns. All | | | | have painted in these very words. If my picture is |
| you know is: it's time to make this one go away, if | | | | utterly foreign, count your blessings as you have not |
| you can. Most likely, you can't. | | | | encountered an emotionally abusive relationship. |
| 2) The Absence of "Emotional Safety" | | | | If, on the other hand, this article is resonating and |
| Your sense of emotional safety is simply not alive | | | | you are keenly aware of that inner experience of: a) |
| relative to this person. You feel guarded, maybe | | | | being called to the carpet; b) the absence of |
| even awkward at times, certainly not fluid by any | | | | "emotional safety" and c) the boa constrictor inner |
| stretch. | | | | strangulation, then you are lucky because you know |
| This is in complete contrast to how you experience | | | | the signs of emotional abuse. And you can now avoid |
| yourself when you're aware of your sense of | | | | becoming a part of the abuse dynamic. |
| "emotional safety." I've coined this term to connote a | | | | |