Emotional Abuse : Verbal Abuse
Heated Up!
“I have a right to express
my anger,” he says. “But you are hurting
me with your words and rage,” she responds. Who
is right and who s wrong?
Both are right. However, what we are talking about
is a much bigger question that is - what is the ethical
way to express feelings of anger? No one should force
feelings into denial, because they will come up again,
often at inappropriate times, and create more separation
between you and those you love. You lose energy, closeness
and connection when you begin to hold any of your feelings
down by not accepting them and expressing them fully.
Your ability to stay healthy, both physically and mentally,
and your ability to keep your relationship healthy,
depends upon your ability to allow feelings to release
through you freely so that they do not create dis-ease.
However, the exercise of free will, or free release
of feelings, also comes with an element of responsibility.
That is, you cannot dump what you are holding inside
in a way that feels abusive to another. I get to dump,
all I want in fact, but I don’t get to dump on
or at you!
I once had a roommate whose father was verbally and emotionally abusive. I had
no idea how badly she had been hurt by him until we went to a weekend seminar
together. We were about to leave the parking garage when the attendant stopped
us, insisting he be paid. We had been informed parking was pre-paid so I began
to launch into my fathers arrogance and give the attendant a piece of my mind.
By the time I was finished, my friend was curled up in the seat and had flattened
herself against the passenger door looking caught - like a deer in headlights!
I immediately got that something was very wrong and for the next hour, we discussed
what had happened to her as a child and how my outburst had affected her.
Apparently, when she was a child, her father would create a disturbance every
place they went by berating the service people, demanding special attention,
criticizing the food or service and in general humiliating my friend tremendously.
She really got in touch with how terrifying that had been for her. My father
was similar. He too raged about everything, and I had the opportunity to clearly
see how his rage was still very much a part of how I dealt with my own perceived
inequities and injustices in life. She internalized her father’s rage and
made a decision to never take exception to anything. I internalized my father’s
rage and was unfortunately able to see I still dealt with some issues, just as
he did.
We made an agreement. Whenever I felt I just had to take a stand about an issue,
I would let her know in advance and she could exercise the option of leaving
the space and making herself safe. By keeping her in mind, I also gave myself
the opportunity to slow down and ask myself if the injustice I was experiencing
was first of all real, justified, worth making a scene over. In addition, slowing
down gave me the time to ask myself if I was complaining to the right person.
Very often a letter to management is much more effective than being upset at
an attendant who has little or no control. Encountering this issue in my life
helped me to heal the ways in which I vented misplaced anger.
In order to avoid making your partners, family or friends feel abused as we release
strong feelings; we have to take responsibility for first discharging or dumping
the intense energy behind those feelings in a safe way. After we release some
of the intensity, we can then talk about the problem or the feelings together
in a non-abusive manner. Much of that initial work should probably be done alone,
or if it does not feel safe to be alone, with a therapist or a person who has
good boundaries, and who does not come from an abusive environment. It is not
OK to overpower anyone else with your feelings. If you do that, then you are
perpetuating abuse.
Very often feelings, such as rage, just get triggered. In that instant, you may
find that you do not have the control you would want to have and are unable to
stop the response, or limit the expression. That’s why I recommend safe
rooms in which one can yell, hit pillows, tear up phone books, scream, rant and
rave - all of which are perfectly acceptable and healthy. Agreements must be
kept that neither person will yell at, use abusive language to or about the other.
Most of the time, the intense feelings that are triggered in the moment are really
about the past and need to be released safely before it is possible to deal effectively
with what is going on in the present situation anyway.
If you who are still into your sense of entitlement, you may be yelling now, “I
should get to have my feelings exactly as they are and not have to limit myself.” That’s
an interesting perception. Could it come from having been abused as a child by
someone who felt exactly that same way? Did someone vent their feelings directly
at you and is that the role model and scenario you are now repeating! It won’t
work to your benefit and you’ll only end up wishing you had done it better,
and in a more respectful way when the venting is over. One of the ways we diminish
our own self-esteem is by continuing to behave in a manner that makes us feel
disappointed in ourselves. The bottom line is that you both have a right to vent.
And, you both have a right to feel safe and not have intense hostile feelings
directed at you. With a little simple negotiation about safety and a willingness
to learn on both your parts, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Dr. Dina Evan
Remember: Your right to express anger does not include verbally abusing others. For More Tools for dealing with rage constructively: Anger
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