Starting with today, I’ll be sharing bits and pieces, jumping around to strike a balance between the positive and negative impacts of verbal abuse.
Currently, my most significant challenge is shielding my daughter from being caught in the crossfire. My ex has a knack for bombarding her with questions about my husband and me. It took me a while to unravel what was happening with my daughter – his manipulation was subtle yet potent. Instead of directly criticizing me, he would insinuate things like “Your mom is going to get mad at you” or “You are going to get in trouble with your mom.” Rather than outright asking her to live with him, he’d suggest, “Wouldn’t it be great if you got to live with me all the time.”
This type of manipulation would cause my daughter so much stress she was having symptoms for years. We kept having to go to the doctor and to specialists, they never found any medical reason for her symptoms. Inside I knew he had something to do with it, it was a gut feeling, but you can’t prove emotional abuse. This kind of manipulation took a toll on my daughter, causing stress and symptoms that persisted for years. Countless visits to doctors and specialists revealed no medical reasons for her distress. Deep down, I sensed his involvement, but verbal and emotional abuse is challenging to prove; it’s not against the law.
Interestingly, my daughter’s symptoms mirrored my own struggles about a decade ago. I faced migraines, stomach problems, and chronic anxiety, unbeknownst to me at the time. Doctors couldn’t pinpoint a medical cause and often prescribed pills for depression or IBS. Upon leaving the toxic relationship, an almost instant improvement washed over me. Today, I feel remarkably better, occasionally grappling with anxiety or perhaps some PTSD, especially when anticipating interactions with him. The journey to healing continues.
Is This Abusive 
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