Violence between individuals can manifest itself in many ways and one of the most common is psychological.
Below we can learn more about this phenomenon, its causes and consequences. We will also see a series of examples to better understand the variants of this type of attacks through several examples of psychological violence which some people habitually exert on others.
Before diving headlong into the different examples of psychological violence, it is necessary that we stop to understand in depth the implications of this phenomenon. Psychological violence, also called psychological abuse or emotional abuse, is a behavior by which a person tries to subdue or humiliate another through various practices that do not require physical aggression
This type of behavior can generate different psychological consequences in the victim, from symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, to post-traumatic stress disorder. There are many examples of psychological violence that could generate these consequences. Logically, depending on their frequency and intensity, as well as the characteristics of the victim, the traumas will be more or less serious.
Emotional abuse addresses so many situations that it is difficult to give a more exact definition. What professionals are clear about is that these behaviors usually involve three situations, which are the psychological aggression itself, its denial or minimization, which generates a second form of victimization in the attacked person, by not recognizing themselves. the damage suffered.
Before beginning to list the different examples of psychological violence that can occur, we will learn more information about this phenomenon. As in all attacks, this situation is based on an imbalance whereby the aggressor takes a position of power over the victim which is subordinated and forced to act under its control.
Although this type of behavior can occur in any context, there are some where it is more common for us to find examples of psychological violence. Some of them are the families themselves, logically, where this emotional abuse from one member of the couple towards the other, or towards the children, could occur. In some cases it can even come from children to parents.
Likewise, children can receive psychological violence from other children and in fact this frequently occurs. Elderly people can also become victims of psychological attacks, whether by a family member or even their caregivers.
Of course, Another scenario where it is easiest to find examples of psychological violence is undoubtedly that of work Although it is a problem against which we are increasingly trying to act, workplace harassment, which can lead to emotional abuse, is still common for many people, who are victims of this behavior by their superiors or even other colleagues.
Different examples of psychological violence and their characteristics
Once we have concluded the theoretical introduction, we are ready to take a tour of the main examples of psychological violence in order to complete our knowledge on this topic. Below we will proceed to list the most important ones in order to carry out an analysis of each of them.
1. Bullying
Bullying is one of the clearest examples of psychological violence. An intimidating attitude towards another person, whether through shouting, attitudes such as a threatening body posture, are behaviors that can cause psychological damage to the victim. This effect can be exacerbated if instead of one aggressor there are several, since the effect of intimidation is multiplied by the perception of a much greater risk.
2. Threats
If in intimidation a series of veiled but not explicit threats could be seen, here we are talking about clear threatening behaviors. They can be verbal threats or physical behaviors that anticipate imminent aggression, such as raising a fist in the air
Even if the physical aggression does not materialize (because then we would be talking about another type of violence), it is still one of the examples of psychological violence, since the victim is experiencing anxiety and fear.
3. Insults
Of course, insults are another form of emotional abuse on the person who receives them, since they are denigrated and this causes damage to your self-esteem Repeated insults can become a form of psychological violence that is truly harmful to the victim.
4. Humiliations
In line with the previous point, humiliations are another example of psychological violence that They demonstrate the damage that can be caused to a person just by using words Humiliations can be of many types, from the person’s physical appearance, some behavior they have performed, some particular characteristic, etc.
In short, when the aggressor wants to cause harm, he will always find a way to achieve it.
5. Rejection
But Sometimes emotional damage can be caused not in an active way, but passively Extreme rejection is one of these examples of psychological violence. When an individual or group of individuals deliberately decide to isolate another and exclude them from all social activities and relationships, they will end up suffering the psychological consequences of said behaviors.
This is what is popularly known as vacuuming, a behavior that some children sometimes perform on other children, but that can also be observed among adults.
6. Forced isolation
Forced isolation is another form of psychological violence. This specific case, Due to its characteristics, it is more common in couples In this case, one member of the couple, usually subtle at first but more obvious later, begins to restrict the other person’s freedom to interact with others or do certain activities.
Little by little he isolates her until her entire life revolves exclusively towards her attacker, paradoxically.
7. Destruction of property
Another example of psychological violence is the damage or destruction of objects that are the property of the victim. It is a form of violence that implies physical damage, not to the person as such but to an element that is their property and therefore it is causing harm to you.
In addition, a veiled threat may also be perceived behind this behavior, since the victim may be afraid of also suffering an attack at some point. There is another variant in which the aggressor, instead of damaging an object, exercises violence on an animal, because it is the property of the victim. It is an even crueler and clearer form of emotional abuse, in which there is also another living being suffering from it.
8. Authoritarianism
The very imbalance in a relationship between two people can generate authoritarianism in which, through other points that we have been seeing, such as intimidation, the aggressor achieves a permanent position of power in which he achieves that all his decisions and mandates are carried out, without taking into consideration the wishes of others. the victim.
9. Blackmail
Another of the most classic examples of psychological violence is blackmail. Through blackmail, the person can exert emotional harm on the other individual to achieve his or her goals. A typical case is to question the feelings towards the aggressor if the other person is not willing to carry out a certain behavior.
10. Disproportionate criticism
Constructive and well-founded criticism should never cause harm to the other person. But if the criticism is disproportionate, constant, not supported by real data and also is used to denigrate the individual certainly constitutes a clear example of psychological violence.
11. Denial of feelings
Emotional damage can also be caused to a person through denial of their feelings. If an individual is experiencing a certain emotion, generally negative, such as sadness, and another person, repeatedly, Not only does it not validate these emotions, but it also despises them and considers that they are not justified, he is obviously exercising psychological abuse on her.
12. Control
Control would be another example of psychological violence that we could cite. While it may be a mix of some of the types we’ve already seen, such as authoritarianism or forced isolation, control can take other forms and be less obvious. Sometimes translates into a review of the actions of others like who you’ve been with, who you’ve talked to, what people are on your social media, etc.
Today, controlling the phone, for example in a relationship, is another of the most common examples of psychological violence that we can find.
