The first step toward changing abusive behavior is to recognize it.

Recognizing emotional abuse is more difficult.

When evaluating your behaviors, be as honest with yourself as possible.

In my last post, I wrote about how common it is for former victims of child abuse to pass on the abuse they experienced to their children and/or their intimate partner. The first step toward changing your abusive behavior is to recognize it in yourself. Hitting, slapping, kicking, punching, pushing, choking or strangling, or use of a weapon to threaten are all forms of physical abuse, even if you are doing so in order to punish or teach a lesson to your children. The emotional abuse of a child or romantic partner can be more difficult to identify.

The following is a list of types of emotional abuse that a parent or an adult partner can impose on their children or their romantic partner. Be as honest with yourself as you can possibly be and put a check mark next to each type of abuse you tend to practice.

The person who tries to dominate another person has a tremendous need to have their own way and they often resort to threats in order to get it. Domineering behavior includes ordering someone around, monitoring time and activities, restricting resources (finances, telephone), restricting social activities, isolating a person from their family or friends, interfering with opportunities (job, education, medical care), excessive jealousy and possessiveness, throwing objects, threatening to harm someone, threatening to harm someone’s pets or property. While these behaviors usually describe types of emotional abuse of an adult partner, parents can also go to extremes when it comes to disciplining their children.

Verbal assault include berating, belittling, criticizing,........

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