Is verbal abuse in a relationship more or less damaging than physical abuse?

Physical abuse... Primarily because imbedded into physical abuse is emotional/verbal abuse. Rarely would someone physically abuse without starting with emotional/verbal abuse. I don't think there are any studies... and, if there were, who would care about them?

Either kind of abuse is damaging. Trying to figure out which one has more long-term damage is pointless. There are many questions/studies about why some people survive better than others.It also brings up the thought (in respect to your mother) whether people just LOOK like they've been "untouched" or they are just repressing issues.

Psychology is very interesting...

This is a really tough question to answer. In attempting to answer it, perhaps I can see the world the way my mom and sister do. Like most of my answers start, "It depends".

To what degree of either abuse is present? Also it depends on the type of person. If they are mentally strong, or can block out all of the physical or mental abuse, then either wouldn’t hurt them.

If they are not mentally strong then either would destroy them. There is physical abuse in a couple of punches here and there or sexual abuse or down right breaking bones, and tearing out hair. There is occasional swearing at someone then calling them names left and right, then cheating on someone.

I look at my mom's life. My step dad didn't physically hit our family too often, I still remember it, but no physical scars exist and I don’t remember the physical pain. I remember her crying, not because she was physically in pain, but because of the things he did to her and to us.

Each time he cheated on her, it was like a slice through her heart. Each time he packed up and left, then came crawling back, it hurt her. In my sister's life, she is currently going through a divorce.

They have a young child, not two years old yet. She claims the only way he lets her see her baby is for her to have sex with him. I can see him doing that too.

He beat her, after she attempted to beat him. I don’t care what anyone says, any ordinary man has more strength than any ordinary woman, its how they are built, with more muscle and strength. Unless she hit him on the head with a cast iron skillet, she didn’t hurt him nearly as badly as he hurt her.

She doesn’t remember him beating on her bad as it was. I feel soooo guilty, as she called me crying that he beat her, and I gave him and excuse, an out (she had just recently cheated on him, my reasoning was stupid, I let him get away with it, by talking her out of it). She should have called the police on him.

I shouldn’t have stopped her. She remembers all the things he says, all the things he did and does that hurts her. Again none of it was physical.In both cases, there were no physical scars left over from the physical abuse.

There are deep scars from the emotional abuse that both of them experienced. Heck, my step dad probably hit us at most 10 times, but I hate him because of the things he did to my mom and our family. I hate him for the person that he is.

I don’t know if I could ever forgive him for the trespasses against us, the non existent person that he was. Side note: ARG! But of course I also realize that had my mom not completely severed the bond I may not be in the position I am today.

As a Hmong girl, who was not his child, he could have sold me off to some old man for lots of money. Whew! That was close call!

I would have to say it is just as damaging as physical abuse. While it does not scar or harm you in any physical way, every negative word or situation takes a toll on your whole body. For someone to be completely healthy they would need to be physically and mentally healthy a like.

When someone puts you down all the time and verbally abuses you, in a way you start to feel as though every word of it was true, especially since it is coming from someone you care about a lot who you think cares about you the same, if not love. With this being said, if it is happening to you, I would suggest seeking help immediately. No one in his world deserves to be treated this way, it is not normal and there are hardly any cases of the person abusing to change.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.