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News Article claiming divorce caused ptsd

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What if "emotional abuse" and "psychological abuse" are actually the same thing?

Squares & Rectangles.

Emotional = Emotional
Psychological = Mental, Emotional, Developmental/neuro-developmental, & Behavioral

Fanatics will be one of the best examples of type. Think suicide bombers. You take a kid, or someone in profound grief, and give them hope & purpose & camaraderie & belonging & faith & a whole lot of otherwise good things... & twist them to suit your purpose. /// Think cults. /// Think hate groups. /// Think Genocide

For more 1:1 less group dynamics? Think conmen, specifically long cons. /// think interrogation techniques that focus on building rapport & trust & loyalty /// think early stages “the good years in the beginning” of domestic violence /// think certainkinds of grooming /// think the ways some gangs operate.

The common thread with most of these forms that don’t include emotional abuse? Using people. As weapons. As followers. As allies. As tools. As informants. Ruling people, rather than breaking them.

It’s one of the really difficult aspects to treat, because being treated really well in some ways, whilst being abused really badly in others, creates a super f*cked up & tangled situation. Like people who think anyone being nice to a kid & building up their self esteem, etc... is just out to rape them. Nope. Some people, most even, are just nice. “Grooming” without the sexual abuse? Is known as friendship. Mentoring. Being good to someone. Being good for someone.
 
Emotional = Emotional
Psychological = Mental, Emotional, Developmental/neuro-developmental, & Behavioral
Fanatics will be one of the best examples of type. Think suicide bombers. You take a kid, or someone in profound grief, and give them hope & purpose & camaraderie & belonging & faith & a whole lot of otherwise good things... & twist them to suit your purpose. /// Think cults. /// Think hate groups. /// Think Genocide

Yes! I couldn't put my finger on it but the psycholical damage done by the cult is WAY more then just emotional. WAY MORE! I think of the movie Inside Out for emotional. The cult had changed (or developed as it was never there before the cult) my core beliefs about me, about them, about others, about the world...about everything. I think being able to take refuge in the Christian youth center and being able to go to public school allowed me to not be a total lost case but even there at the Christian youth center I could not figure out why they weren't killing animals and having orgies to worship "god". I came onto EVERYONE because "that's what I was supposed to do". Including a cousin-in-law because he was a pastor and well, that's what I was "supposed to do". It took me years and years to adapt to this new world after I left, leaving really upset people (including my family) in the dust of it. And even then I kept doing the rituals just simply because "I was supposed to" and I feared them even 10, 12, 15 yrs removed from it. I fear them still today and that fear is just as real and they are both dead. My therapist was asking how I was doing living alone and mentioned this is the first time I lived alone and they were dead and I, for a second, didn't realize they were dead and I told him that I still fear them and fear they will be coming to get me. Even though I know they are both dead.

To change the way your brain works. To make that big of a change is more then just emotional. I call that psychological damage and a psychological hold. That would include gas lighting and those other types of things mentioned. That isn't emotional abuse, it is psychological. It changes behavior, thought processes, and it creates a change in the brain. It has emotional damages in it but it effects more things. Not that one is more severe then the other but it effects more things and has more layers in it.
 
Fanatics will be one of the best examples of type. Think suicide bombers. You take a kid, or someone in profound grief, and give them hope & purpose & camaraderie & belonging & faith & a whole lot of otherwise good things... & twist them to suit your purpose. /// Think cults. /// Think hate groups. /// Think Genocide

For more 1:1 less group dynamics? Think conmen, specifically long cons. /// think interrogation techniques that focus on building rapport & trust & loyalty /// think early stages “the good years in the beginning” of domestic violence /// think certainkinds of grooming /// think the ways some gangs operate.

Saints, sycophants, and saviors.... sounds about right. :oops:
 
Yeah, and see that is where I get confused. Most psychological articles say this:
Psychological = Mental, Emotional, Developmental/neuro-developmental, & Behavioral
Not this:
Emotional = Emotional

So I am not really certain that they are squares and rectangles. I mean, I think they have come so far as to understand and document that psychological includes emotional. That emotional abuse is psychological abuse.

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Anyway, I am clearly reacting to this. I seriously consider myself lucky (????) that when I was diagnosed that there was a history of physical abuse during foster care. And I feel for some of these people who come onto the forum and say that they are divorced and believe they have PTSD. So much happens prior to divorce and when one is in shock from psychological abuse it is next to impossible to articulate... while life crumbles around you. I mean, seriously --- it took me SEVEN years to figure out that they were screwing with the house I escaped to! Seven years! I thought that I was going crazy - so put it down to my mental state. It wasn't my mental state at all. I just couldn't deal with more of it after more of it after more of it. So I was in denial. Complete mental overwhelm and collapse.

Which brings me back to this and other postings. If someone is claiming PTSD from emotional abuse and can articulate exactly what happened, then I am going to say that there was no real dismantling of the SELF during the abuse. Just an opinion. As an aside, my ex from the house of horrors claimed in court that he had PTSD too. He had a long script of all the things I did to him to keep the he said.she said thing going in court. I, on the other hand, couldn't remember sweet f*ck all when I was being questioned. Which was exactly what they wanted. Psychological abuse makes the victim not even be able to give a narrative of what happened. And that is PTSD worthy.

Okay, done. I am going to drive myself mad with this. I will unwatch the thread and I thank you for your patience with me. Every now and again a thread comes along.... and BAM.
 
So I am not really certain that they are squares and rectangles. I mean, I think they have come so far as to understand and document that psychological includes emotional. That emotional abuse is psychological abuse

That’s actually the same thing I said.

Emotional abuse is PART of psychological abuse = psychological INCLUDES emotional.

It’s a component.

All emotional abuse (squares) will fall under the psychological abuse (rectangles) umbrella.

But there are types of psychological abuse which do not include emotional abuse. That, in fact, are the exact opposite of emotional abuse. And not all cases of emotional abuse are going to contain every other component of psychological abuse. So emotional abuse is a kind of psychological abuse, not a synonym for psychological abuse. Subheading rather than alternate heading. Emotional abuse > Psychological abuse > Abuse.

It’s exactly like not all abuse includes physical abuse, or sexual abuse. They’re components. Subheadings. As are all the components that make up each type of abuse. It’s all very ala carte. Smörgåsbord of f*ckeduppedness.
 
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In case you do come back and check in, @shimmerz , the DSM 5 now includes its own section of different types of mental illness that are specifically recognised as being caused by, and integrally with, traumatic experiences. Ptsd is only one of them now as a recognised “trauma did this” mental illness.

I think that’s a huge leap forward, and when clinicians adjust to the new DSM over time, hopefully if won’t play out like “PTSD or bust” the way that it has previously for victims of psychological/emotional abuse.
 
I swear to god I unwatched this thread but still got notifications.
That, in fact, are the exact opposite of emotional abuse.
Not quite sure what the meaning of this is. Could be just where my head is right now. But I think we were talking about how emotional abuse can lead to PTSD. That it is not recognized legally as abuse. Which is exactly why it was used against me and others. Nobody goes to jail for it. That needs to change. So for smart people, it is the weapon of choice. No muss, no fuss. Destroy the 'bitches life' is how I recall it being put to me. Oh my god, I could go on forever.... I need to stop.

Ptsd is only one of them now as a recognised “trauma did this” mental illness.
Thanks Ragdoll. May I ask, and please understand I am limping along here. Would things in the list that @mumstheword posted be considered traumatic and leading to PTSD?
Being forcibly sleep deprived for years.
Being manipulated into never even learning to drive,, so you're stuck.
Being screamed at that you're crazy, sometimes for hours or through the night.
Being isolated on the road or in a primitive shack in the bush, having child after child from a teenager.
Being overdrugged constantly, so much that it drives you psychotic (along with lack of food and sleep and accompanied by the constant abuse).
Being denied medical treatment when incredibly ill.

I am just trying to figure out if I would have been diagnosed with PTSD if I had not had a foster care background that included criteria. Thanks so much.
 
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Not quite sure what the meaning of this is. Could be just where my head is right now. But I think we were talking about how emotional abuse can lead to PTSD. That it is not recognized legally as abuse.
I was responding to @Cyberluddite who questioned
What if "emotional abuse" and "psychological abuse" are actually the same thing? How can you gaslight, harass, bully, or use other forms of non-physical violence against someone... and not cause your victim to have an emotional response?
Which is why I talked about kinds of abuse that don’t include emotional abuse, and how emotional abuse is both it’s own thing, as well as a component in other things.
 
@shimmerz - I’m entering into speculation. But they are pretty extreme things to do to a person, so I would definitely think so. Hopefully someone who is better across the different diagnosis can confirm that.

Forcible sleep deprivation alone is, like, pretty maliciously awful and could easily lead to a whole host of both physiological as well as psychological issues. How a clinician could consider forced sleep deprivation to be “not traumatic”, or somehow not likely to have a major impact on a person’s function, distress, behaviour, thoughts, emotions? would be beyond me.
 
Thanks Ragdoll. May I ask, and please understand I am limping along here. Would things in the list t...
I'm wondering the same thing. I was just such a shattered mess when I got out. So so ill. Homeless, beside myself about my children, "high functioning hyperaroused" for an extended period, even delirious for a time, not even sure how long I couldn't sleep for. Could I explain what had been done to me? No. Did I still get the diagnosis? Yes. Did I still get a victim payout even though I couldn't properly explain what the 21yrs of abuse actually entailed? Yes, because I clearly had ptsd.
 
I suffered childhood emotional neglect. I also suffered very clear criterion A trauma later on...

Multiple trauma specialists have told me the childhood neglect was a threat to my ability to live despite the fact that I had food clothing and shelter.

I’ve never been sure what to do with that in terms on how it’s played into PTSD symptoms. I’d have PTSD from assault and clear criterion A trauma, but if none of that would have happened... would I have had PTSD? I’ve been told “probably” by clinical pros, but I’ve dismissed it. I don’t know how that helps me to know...

It is verified the neglect did cause “failure to thrive” as a toddler. Severe enough emotional neglect alone can lead to a child dying of failure to thrive even if fed and sheltered - but this isn’t the same as emotional abuse along the lines of my mom didn’t hug me or called me names as a kid. I’ve been told that would have been better for my nervous system than the type of emotional neglect I had endured.

Frankly, I don’t know what my own opinion is on this part of my own history and many of the good questions being asked and sorted out, but it’s been a great discussion to read.
 
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