Psychological & Mental Abuse

Mental or psychological abuse is a problem that occurs commonly in relationships yet the victims of this type of abuse seldom understand what it actually is that's being done to them. Mental or psychological abuse happens when someone is trying to convince their victim that they have mental health issues, that they are insane, or that they are delusional or paranoid or suffer with some other kind of mental deficiency when in reality they are of sound mind. This type of abuse is often used when the abuser is hiding something such as a secret affair or the guilt of a crime they have committed. This may be done directly to the victims face or indirectly via covert means such as gaslighting. Gaslighting is when the abuser utilizes means such as moving items around the home and/or switching equipment and devices on or off in an effort to convince their victim that they are losing the plot. Repeated exposure to these types of abuse can lead the victim into questioning their own sanity which can be a very dangerous path to take.

Indeed some mental abusers go the full length and manage to convince their victims to go to the doctor and have potentially dangerous medication prescriibed for their mythical symptoms, medication that the victims don't really need. Once this has been established the abuser can then use the solid evidence of an official diagnosis and prescribed medication to prove that they were telling the truth about their victim all along, when in actuality they are the one who has mental health issues and possibly needs medication or professional help. In many cases the victim has already been ostracized well before they could ever have imagined due to their abuser spreading lies and rumours behind their back for an unknown amount of time. This is especially the case with victims of narcissistic or sociopathic abuse.

In addition to the standard forms of psychological or mental abuse, there is another type of abuse known as mental rape (as horrible a word as it is). The definition of 'rape' is to steal a person's innocence without their consent although this is most often used in sexual cases. However, mental rape occurs probably just as much, if not more, than other forms of mental abuse and can result in the victim finding it hard to ever trust another person again. In fact, sociopathic families are often guilty of this crime yet it commonly goes unrecognized and often seems justified due to the lies and rumours that the abuser has spread about their victim. Many people commit mental rape without being aware of what they're actually doing.

Mental rape is the act of stealing the victims thoughts (and sometimes emotions) then reporting them in secret back to the abuser who then uses the information to manipulate their victim even further. Not only are the participants stealing the victims thoughts, they are also committing a violation of the victims privacy and basic human rights. The victim generally doesn't know what's going on though may find out from participants slipping up or saying things in front of them believing that the victim is oblivious, when in actual fact they may already be suspicious.

This type of psychological abuse most often occurs when one partner of a relationship is having a secret affair and uses their friends and family to commit the mental rape on their behalf (mental abuse via proxy) by convincing them of lies and rumours about the victim thereby ostracizing the victim. When victims of mental rape discover the reality of the situation they are often left shell-shocked by the fact that their own family and friends would do such a thing to them and may find it hard to ever trust again. Their trust and their relationships have been destroyed.

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