Rantings on Domestic Violence

Daul Kim: Boyfriend Believed to Have Had Hand in Death by Jessica Conatser – News – StyleCaster

I found this article regarding a model found hanging and police looked to her boyfriend as a suspect because she was a victim of domestic violence. Please note that her “murder” was in fact listed as a suicide and the boyfriend was not charged. However, this got me to thinking about domestic violence as a whole. Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimized, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars.

No one should live in fear of the person they love. In today’s economic times, many people are staying in abusive relationships out of money. This should never be the case. I told my girlfriend one time, “I wish you loved you as much as I love you”. Psychological or verbal abuse destroys your self-esteem. When you love the abuser more than yourself, you don’t value your self-worth. You don’t believe that you are worthy for a better life, a better future or a better right now. Remember to surround yourself with people who love you, because they will support you when you need them. Signs that you are in an abusive relationship:

Does your partner:
humiliate or yell at you?
criticize you and put you down?
treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?
ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
blame you for his own abusive behavior?
see you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?

Remember that our bodies are temples and once we respect the temple, few people can enter and destroy the temple. Love yourselves first. Oh, and my friend: left her spouse for a better life.