When you hurt someone you love, you let them know that they are not that important in your life. If you believe you are the emotionally abusive one and you want to heal and evolve from that behavior, this episode is a good start. In a relationship, control is the opposite of love. The more you control, the more love you lose. Love and abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook at loveandabuse.com

When someone shows you every single red flag you need to determine there is lying, control, and manipulation going on, at what point do you tell yourself you're not going to take it anymore?

In today's episode, I read an email from someone who went through an emotionally abusive relationship. As I read it, I break down each and every bad behavior so that you know how to identify it in your life.

Love and abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook at loveandabuse.com

After months or years of being emotionally abused, you may find yourself doing behavior that resembles the same type of behavior you're a victim to. If that's the case, you can end up thinking you are also abusive, and may start believing that you perhaps you are just as bad as them, or worse.

Love and abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook at loveandabuse.com

The smear campaign is a card often played by narcissists, sociopaths, and other emotional abusers to make you look like the bad guy. If you're hurt and miserable, they are happy. When you're defensive and upset, they use that against you by telling everyone just how irrational you are. Handle this the wrong way, and you'll walk away defeated and unsupported by almost everyone that believes the lies. That's why it's important to learn the right way to handle this very abusive behavior.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on emotional abuse over at loveandabuse.com

A suicide threat is the ultimate way to control an empathetic, caring person. When you're in a relationship with someone that threatens to kill themselves if you leave, you need to follow very specific steps so that 1. You aren't stuck in that relationship forever, and 2. If they're truly serious about taking their own life, you figure out a way to help them not follow through with it.

When you are in love with the person mistreating you, is there a way to improve the relationship? Can you make them understand how much they're hurting you? And if you did, would it change the situation?

In this episode, I read an email from someone whose emotional abuse turned into physical abuse, but she doesn't want to leave him because she loves him so much.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on manipulation and emotional abuse at loveandabuse.com. #loveandabuse

There are ways emotional abusers can make you feel crazy. They can tell you that you said something you didn't, and convince you that you did. They can tell you about a conversation you never had. They can move things on you and tell you nothing was moved.

Someone with an agenda can alter your reality so much that you might actually GO crazy. In this episode I talk about crazymaking, and also dealing with the narcissistic ex when you have shared custody of the children.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on manipulation and emotional abuse at loveandabuse.com. #loveandabuse

Emotional abuse victims have a very difficult time trying to explain what's happening to them to friends and family. Often, loving, supportive people may side with the abuser because they simply can't see or believe that they are bad people. This leaves the victim feeling alone, with no one to turn to because their support system slowly disappears around them.

This episode is meant to be given to family, friends, your attorney, your therapist, or anyone else that doesn't understand the depth of control and manipulation happening in your relationship. Think of it as an emotional abuse and manipulation translation guide.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on emotional abuse and manipulation, an assessment and healing guide for difficult relationships.

When you're in the thick of a toxic relationship, all you can see is a dark future with no way out. This skewed reality can actually keep you in the relationship because you think it's the best you can get.

Flushing yourself of the toxicity will help you see the brighter future there is.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on manipulation and emotional abuse at loveandabuse.com. #loveandabuse

Trying work as hard as you can to fix things you didn't break is exhausting and demoralizing. The first step to healing is realizing you're in it.

The path to repairing the relationship is for the perpetrator to discover that they are being abusive and to care enough about you to want to change.

Love and Abuse is the official podcast of The M.E.A.N. Workbook on emotional abuse and manipulation at https://loveandabuse.com