Religious and spiritual leaders when well trained can offer valuable support to victims. Spiritual leaders and authority figures can also inadvertently or intentionally wield spiritual abuse. We are going to talk about institutional spiritual abuse in our next blog. This week however we will address how spiritual abuse can also occur in relationships as a…
We are all first responders at some point in our lives. We are mothers, fathers, siblings, professionals, and friends. As a first responder to abuse, at some point, you will likely face the opportunity to confront a person about their abusive personality and behavior. Whether the abuser is a client, co-worker, family member, or friend,…
Today, we are sharing a story from a victim that highlights not only how tormenting Covert Emotional Abuse can be, but how being a male victim abused by a woman can be a uniquely difficult and isolating situation. Like many other male victims, Tom endured years of maltreatment, both physical and emotional, before he found…
In last week’s blog, we addressed some reasons why women don’t leave their abusers. The M3ND Project has been in dialogue with a number of male victims to listen to their stories of abuse and wanted to share some of the reasons why men might not leave their abusers. We have been told about the…
“Why don’t you just leave him?” Many people ask victims of abuse this question. Although it is often posed with good intentions, it is rarely a helpful question to ask. For most victims, the decision of whether to leave a relationship is far more complicated and wrought with nuances than most people realize. In this…
Every marriage has its own unique joys and challenges, and it rarely aligns with our expectations. Comparisons we draw from entertainment and other relationships we witness between friends and family can set us up to believe that marriage should look a specific way. While there are certain things that should be constant within a relationship…
One thing abusers have in common is that they will try to make their bad behavior seem good somehow, either internally to themselves or outwardly to their victim and to the world. Through this endeavor, abusers may do things like justifying, covering-up, scapegoating, blaming, and much more. Today, we want to highlight a Covert Emotional…
In light of this week being National Women’s Health Week and Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of mental health in women and its relationship to abuse. Cultivating strong mental health is critical for personal growth and maintaining physical well-being. It is also important to prioritize your…
Today, we are proud to share the powerful testimony of a strong survivor who was sexually assaulted at a place meant to facilitate relaxation and peace, not trauma and agony. To protect her identity, she self-refers as “Riley” in her story below, although that is not her real name. Because of her abuser’s actions, her…
No parent in this millennia is an expert on playing out their role during a pandemic. There is no “right way” to these strange new normals brought on by COVID-19, but as a parent, you may be wishing there was a guideline for getting through this season of social distancing and sheltering-in-place without losing your…