Also known as psychological abuse, mental abuse is similar to emotional abuse. It is the use of non-verbal and/or verbal communication meant to control or manipulate. However, instead of impacting how a person feels, it affects how a person thinks and views reality. Some examples in addition to those found under Emotional Abuse include:
- Gaslighting- psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.
- Bullying
- Coercion
- Harassment
- Infantilization- treating a competent adult as a child.