PTSD: Domestic Violence: A Power Struggle With Lasting Consequences
And often, it’s the emotional component of domestic violence that leads to a chronic state of PTSD. Being abused by someone who should be trustworthy and nurturing leads many women to feel abandoned, betrayed, even crazy. Depression is by far the most common symptom of domestic violence, and it’s also one of the chronic effects of PTSD caused by abuse. The feeling of helplessness and hopelessness that many victims fall prey to has a profoundly undermining effect on their mental and emotional wellbeing.
And because abusers often exacerbate the harmfulness of their abuse by refusing their partners access to adequate medical and psychological care - and even withholding such care as a further form of abuse - it is often extremely challenging for victims of domestic violence to escape the cycle of abuse. Even those of who have managed to move on from crippling abusive relationships can suffer the aftershocks of abuse - on other words, PTSD - for many years. PTSD from abuse is characterized by symptoms such as flashbacks, intrusive imagery, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, insomnia, hyper-vigilance, and avoidance of traumatic triggers.
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