None of us are perfect. We all struggle as we walk our path in life and sometimes our burdens become too much for us to handle alone. We sometimes feel that we should be able to handle anything that comes our way and we fight with our selves to feel better only to feel worse. It takes courage to reach out and ask for help. Reaching out to others for support means we are finally honouring ourselves and making our healing a priority.
Has someone in your family ever...
Hit, choked, strangled, slapped, bitten, restrained or used a weapon against you? This is physical abuse.
Called you names, yelled at, bullied or bribed you? This is emotional abuse.
Sold your belongings, put all the bills in your name, refused to give you money, taken all your money or refused to add you to the benefit plan? This is financial abuse.
Forced you to have intercourse, had affairs, brought home STDs or forced you to prostitute yourself? This is sexual abuse.
Controlled who you see, where you go, how you dress, what you do? This is controlling behaviour.
Criticized your spiritual beliefs, refused to allow you to practice your faith or used religious scriptures to control or isolate you? This is spiritual abuse.
Followed you, monitored your whereabouts, obsessed over you or contacted you when you had asked them not to? This is stalking.
Threatened to or actually destroyed property, harmed pets, destroyed your emails, purposely sent viruses to your computer, changed your passwords or posted malicious messages on the internet about you?
These are all abusive behaviours. If you have experienced any of these behaviours from a partner or family member, you may be in an abusive relationship.
Has anyone ever told you your behaviour is abusive...
Do you lash out physically at your partner or family when you get angry?
Do you get upset or jealous when your partner goes out to see friends without you?
Do you follow your partner when he or she goes out?
Do you control how much money your partner or family member spends and what it is spent on?
Do you monitor the phone calls in your home and control who your partner calls and for how long?
Do you expect your partner to have sex with you whenever you want?
Have you ever destroyed or threatened to destroy your partner or family member's property?
Do you forbid your partner or family member from practicing their spiritual beliefs?
If you have answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you may be using abusive behaviours against your partner or family member. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and ask for help. When you are ready to make changes or you just want to talk about your relationship, feel free to call us at 780-448-0378.