Mental Health in abusive relationships

 

 Have you ever been in or seen a relationship where a woman does not feel safe? Every time I think about this question, I get gut wrenching memories of my friend Avas abusive relationship. Abusive Relationships are a lot more common than one would think. “Worldwide, almost one-third (27%) of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner (World Health Organization)”. What do you think of when you hear about an abusive relationship? Is it mostly about physical abuse, or do you also think about the long-term effects of mental abuse in an abusive relationship? Abusive relationships do usually consist of both physical and mental health, but mental health is not as focused on as physical is and it should be.  

Although there are many negative physical effects that abusive relationships have on women, the mental health effects are just as serious. Mental health is someone's emotional and psychological well-being. When someone is not in the right mental state their brain does not function properly. An article by National Library of Medicine states, "Qualitative studies that have been undertaken conclude that it is just as damaging to one's health to be continuously psychologically abused as it is to be physically abused”. Being Physically abused sounds a lot worse than being mentally abused. However, the effects of mental abuse can be just as damaging to someone's health.  

 

At Lehigh University, an Online study was conducted to see how many students witnessed different types of domestic abuse at the school. It was proven that only 8.5 percent of students witnessed physical abuse and 57.4 percent of students witnessed mental abuse in romantic relationships at Lehigh. Mental abuse was seen 48.9% more from students than physical violence. If people are seeing this one could wonder what more is happening behind closed doors.