10 Signs of emotional abuse you might be missing

When we talk about abuse, we usually think of the more physical side of things, and it usually concerns people in close romantic or familial relationships.

However, emotional abuse is just as common - but is often harder to spot. What's more, this more insidious form of torture can affect any sort of relationship. A parent, a sibling, a significant other, or even a close friend could turn out to be an emotional manipulator, and sometimes their behavior is so subtle that the victim doesn't even realize what's happening until it's too late.

Here are just 10 indicators that you should watch out for...

1. Lack of empathy

An emotional abuser will not be able to show compassion to their victim, and will often remain indifferent during their times of suffering.

2. Gaslighting

This term is used to describe the act of blaming the victim for something that the emotional abuser has done, sometimes to the extent that the abused person actually believes that they are responsible for the problem.

3. Guilt-tripping

This is linked to the above point, as abuse victims are often made to feel as if they are responsible for problems in the relationship with their abuser. What's more, those who have been abused are often convinced that they don't deserve to be upset or angry by their abuser's actions, so they feel guilty for not being grateful for what they have.

4. Jealousy

Abusers are possessive and demanding. They don't like it if their victim gets too close to someone else, even if it's a family member or old friend.

5. Being demanding

An emotional abuser will tactically use their victim like some kind of tool, and sometimes resort to extremely childish or demanding behavior in order to get what they want from them.

6. Financial abuse

Sometimes this means withholding money from someone, but other times it can be a form of manipulation through debt. If a victim owes their abuser money, then the abuser will use that to their advantage in order to extort other things until the debt is paid.

7. Undermining

Emotional abusers are experts in making their victims feel worthless and unwanted, and they will then turn those emotions against them. Abuse victims often report being told that they were "too sensitive", or being made to believe that their feelings were invalid.

8. Grand gestures

Emotional manipulators are clever in that they never want you to realize that they are doing anything wrong. So, in order to cover their tracks, they'll often give their victims extravagant gifts or shower them with affection.

9. Stonewalling

This term is used to describe an extreme form of ignoring someone, and often comes about at completely random times. By stonewalling a person, an abuser can make them feel guilty, or cause them to worry that they've done something wrong. This then makes them more likely to comply with their manipulator's wishes.

10. Overprotection

More than anything, abusers want a sense of control over their victims. So, along with giving them gifts and making them feel like they need their abuser's attention, manipulators will also be very overprotective, and ensure that nobody else gets in the way of the relationship.

If you see any of these sorts of behavior in your relationships, address it before it becomes a problem. Abusers are stubborn, and won't often take accountability for their actions. So, if you know that you're a victim of their behavior, it's better to just cut ties than put up with persistent torture.