Psychological abuse is the act of repeated manipulation with the intention of causing emotional and mental  harm, through distortion of the truth, confusing and distorting the views of the victim. It is an evil and pernicious form of abuse, sometimes referred to as psychological violence, mental abuse or emotional abuse. It can be a form of domestic abuse.

Psychological and emotional abuse differ slightly in that emotional abuse targets the feelings and self worth of an individual using methods such as shouting, degradation and public embarrassment to make a victim feel worthless.

Psychological abuse targets cognition and perception, using tactics such as gaslighting, manipulation and isolation, affecting how a victim thinks and making them dependent on the abuser.

Both aim to apply control, often occurring concurrently.

Psychological abuse can be difficult to identify, perpetrators behaving differently than they do behind closed doors and victims not realising that they are being abused.

Psychological abuse can be painful and distressing, leading to severe emotional and mental harm, depression and anxiety, and can often be the most difficult form of violence to identify.

A psychological abuser will gaslight you, making you doubt your own memories or perception of realty (gaslighting). They will shift any blame onto you, insisting any criticism of you or insults aimed at you are jokes. They will criticise you, humiliate you and bring you down.

They will give you the silent treatment.

They will tell you that you are mentally unwell or that you are mad or irrational.T ell you that you are imagining or embelleshing their abusive behaviour.

They play the victim, telling others such as friends, police, professionals or legal professionals that it is you being abusive when you are defending yourself in response to their abuse or manipulative behaviour.

Emotional abuse is a behaviour that shows a lack of respect for another's feelings. A lack of empathy. It will erode and undermine the victim's self esteem and confidence.

The intention of the abuser is to maintain control and authority.

Emotional abuse can be long lasting but a very difficult type of violence to distinguish.

Emotional abuse includes name calling and insults and putting the victim down, especially in front of others, embarrasing and shaming them.

Psychological abuse encompasses a pattern of behaviour which involves manipulation, coercion and grooming. It often begins with persistent compliments and intense affection. This is called love bombing.

It is then followed by dosing, where the affection is profered in small quantities followed by criticism, silence and emotional distance. Dosing affects an emotional reaction over a lengthy period of time making it difficult to comprehend a harmful and dangerous relationship.

This type of abuse is subtle, the victim's natural reaction to abusive behaviour being eroded, the victim having a fear of conflict.

The abuser will also take advantage of any weaknesses and vulnerabilities recognised in a victim.

In the appropriate environment the perpetrator can use children to threaten and control a victim.

Abusers can use a range of manipulative, coercive and psychological tactics to preserve power and control

Gaslighting, where the abuser manipulates the victim into their perceptions and experiences.

Grooming, a process where the abuser builds trust in a child or vulnerable individual to manipulate, exploit and use them.

Cognitive Disonance, where a person's beliefs and actions are not in sync.

Coercive Persuasion (Brainwashing), a systematic, often forceful effort to manipulate and modify a person's thoughts, beliefs, emotions or behaviors.

Dosing, where the affection is in small doses (love bombing) followed by criticism, silence and emotional distance. 

Love Bombing, where someone overwhelms another with extreme displays of affection and attention and is often the first phase in a cycle of abuse.

Hoovering, a tactic where a manipulative person tries to suck the victim back into a toxic or abusive relationship.

Normalising, where the abuser desensitises the victim to abuse, coercion and improper behaviour. The behaviour is then seen as normal by the victim, who is then more inclined to take part.

The Silent Treatment, an emotional and psychological tactic used to punish and manipulate. It is a passive aggressive form of emotional abuse intended to cause a psychological distress comparable to physical pain.

Stonewalling, comparable to The Silent Treatment, where a person shuts down and refuses to communicate with the victim, the victim having to do all the work to repair conflict.

Triangulation, where an abuser involves a third person to create chaos, manipulating others to gain and maintain control, creating conflict. This is a common tactic in toxic relationships and in disorders such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Word Salad, where a person uses repetition, generalisations, no logic, words that lack context and contradictions. This tactic is to establish that the abuser cannot be part of a solution as the victim is the issue.