| Physical abuse is commonplace - the drunk husband | | | | This is how it works: |
| beating his wife, the cop over-stepping his duties, the | | | | - By refusing to make your own opinions, you |
| mother hurting her child. | | | | mentally abuse yourself. |
| - The only good thing about physical abuse is that | | | | - By refusing to exercise and eat carefully, you |
| you have the chance to get away, to remove | | | | physically abuse yourself. |
| yourself from the situation - if you are not there, | | | | - By refusing to display discipline you totally abuse |
| they cannot get you. | | | | yourself. |
| Mental abuse is rife - the wife who constantly pecks | | | | - By refusing to see the truth you refuse to tell the |
| away at her husband, the school teacher who picks | | | | truth and you abuse your children. |
| on a student, the children in the playground teasing | | | | Do not allow ignorance to lead to abuse... |
| one child in particular. | | | | Do not accept what you were told... |
| - The problem with mental abuse is that it stays with | | | | - If something does not make sense, if something |
| the victim and effects all areas of their life and their | | | | feels wrong, if something confuses or hurts you, |
| self-confidence - avoiding mental abuse is harder, and | | | | then step back, step away, step up to real life and |
| the effects linger. | | | | see the truth. |
| - Most abuse is self-inflicted - the physically abused | | | | - If someone mistreats you verbally or physically you |
| person who refuses to leave; the victim of mental | | | | only have yourself to blame if you stay. |
| abuse who refuses to stand up; the acceptance of | | | | - If you are in mental or physical pain, then do |
| confusing lessons and ideologies that instill only | | | | something to stop it and fight it. |
| weakness and fear. | | | | Most abuse is self-inflicted because most of us only |
| The good news is that you can confront and defeat | | | | question some things, accept most things and do |
| self-inflicted abuse by being realistic, not idealistic or | | | | nothing to change the systems that fail again and |
| weak. | | | | again and again. |