‘Why did I fall so hard?’

emotional-abuse

The Psychological Abuse I experienced is the nemesis for my poetry and my book which is nearly completed for publication. I also write a blog and opinion pieces on emotional abuse. Below is my latest article published in The Journal.ie today in light of the legislation explaining why making Coercive Control a criminal offense in Ireland is so Significant.


The French criminalized “psychological violence” as have the British and now Ireland has joined ranks with the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill 2017 through the Houses of the Oireachtas to include coercive control” within intimate relationships as a crime. This has to be one of the most significant pieces of legislation to come before the Oireachtas this year.

Coercive control is often talked about as if it is a mild form of domestic violence, which is a mistake. Emotional abuse is devastating and can often be more traumatic than physical wounds. Bruises and broken bones eventually heal and may leave scars, but emotional trauma stays with you and shapes who you are as a person. It leaves an indelible injury, one that is not as visible, but physically affects and damages the brain.

The Department of Justice released a press release in which they state “The new offense of coercive control sends a clear, consistent message that non-violent control in an intimate relationship is criminal. The effect of such behavior may be as harmful to victims as physical abuse because it is an abuse of the unique trust associated with an intimate relationship.”

Coercive control creates the psychological conditions that allow abusive relationships to exist and to escalate often with devasting and in some cases fatal consequences. It is, in fact, the foundation stone on which abusive relationships are built. If a someone hit you, you wouldn’t go home with them however the nature of emotional abuse is that victim does not know it’s happening to them until they are stuck under the thumb of the abuser in a surreal existence.

I was one of those who suffered this form of mental violence, and it ravaged my life. What I remember most about emotional abuse is that it felt like I was in a tumble dry cycle; – hurled around, hitting against the sides of the drum, erratically lacerated, mangled, being knocked and jolted about some more, not knowing how bloody long the cycle would continue for or where the next blow would come from. Then suddenly, intermittently, the cycle stops. I would curl up, become smaller, quieter, detach from my feelings, eliminate people and interest from my life in an attempt to slow down the drum roll, to ease the pain of the abuse. But no matter what I did, it never stopped. And with the end of the relationship, the persecution intensified. This is a common trait amongst abuser. They become even more vindictive and offensive when their victim attempts to leave or fight back. That is why this bill is so important it offers a safe place in which to take the perpetrator to task on the abuse.

The ponderous thought that remains with me is why. Why did I doggedly trust and believe him? Why did I get sucked in so deeply? Why did I fall so hard? Why did I make myself so vulnerable to him? But that’s the trick of the abuser. You don’t see or feel that your brain is being punched and battered, however, had I been physically boxed or hit I would have understood the abuse and would have run from him as fast as I could.

It was 2012, and without any legal recourse at that stage, the essence of my healing – my validation – was to write a blog about my experience. I saw my reality reflected in other women who emerged from the depths of such darkness. Seeing myself in their stories and without any legal recourse available, it allowed me to name my experience as an emotionally abused woman. Psychological violence is hard to define and hard to police, but this piece of legislation removes the ambiguity of this form of abuse and firmly recognizes it as damaging and dangerous. Identifying psychological abuse as a crime makes this is a powerful piece of legislation, in advancing women’s rights, and indeed the rights of anyone suffering from domestic violence.

Patricia Tsouros writes a blog on emotional abuse to inform and help families, and friends to understand the complexities of such a relationship, the trauma victims suffer and provide an insight to better help and support the victim.

It’s a Rap is my story of emotional abuse.

Please follow the blog for latest on book release and special launch offer.

Shattered Reflections

 

Calligraphing en l' air #6

Like billowing branches

In a thundering tempest

Swinging

Back and forth

Going nowhere

My senses numbed

I scream louder and louder

The pain ripping into

The flesh of my throat

Clasping, gasping for harmony

My screams trail off

To nowhere

I sit up and turn on the light

Questions howling at my thoughts

No gentle whispers in the raging ponderings

My hair whisked

Around my sweat-streaked face

Fear pressed in close

My lifeblood  pouring from my

Veins

Forsaken.

 

The storm ascended

Following a time of eerie stillness and foreboding gray skies.

The wind is so fierce that I don’t know if I can stay standing

My body battered from the swaying branches.

I long for a fortress

From the taunting roars

The shattered reflections

The echoed breaths of – my home

 

“There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of pain.”

Image @Riseart

 

 

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Mother’s  Love

Her love is like

an island in life’s ocean,

vast and wide

A peaceful, quiet shelter

From the wind, the rain, the tide.

‘Tis bound on the north by Hope,

By Patience on the West,

By tender Love on the South

And on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light

Shine Faith, and Prayer;

And thro’ the changing scenes of life

I find a haven in my mother.

Autumn Allure – Orange Coat

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Balmain over-the-knee suede boots
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Anya Hindmarch tote handbag
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Philip Stein watch
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Orange lamp
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Autumn Allure – Orange Coat

Autumn Allure - Orange Coat

MaxMara wool sweater
€395 – luisaviaroma.com

Paskal red coat
€1.705 – modaoperandi.com

Balmain over-the-knee suede boots
€1.830 – stylebop.com

Anya Hindmarch tote handbag
€2.015 – brownsfashion.com

Philip Stein watch
€225 – jrdunn.com

Orange lamp
€67 – notonthehighstreet.com

Winter Coat

Winter Coat

Paul Joe red coat
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Chloé black booties
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Betsey Johnson zip bag
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Johnny Loves Rosie rose jewellery
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Burberry lace glove
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Ray-Ban ray ban glasses
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Brixton fedora hat
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Baby it’s cold outside- best of October

Baby it's cold outside- best of October

Zadig Voltaire pullover sweater
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Dries Van Noten short sleeve jacket
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Zadig & Voltaire cropped jeans
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Giuseppe Zanotti leather booties
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Isabel Marant cashmere scarve
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Rag bone baseball hat
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SIJJL wool glove
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Where do you get your inspiration?

What inspires you?

The Split Up

Iidu Tikkanen @Artfetch Iidu Tikkanen @Artfetch

“Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.”
 Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections

Inspiration is everywhere — from the words of your favorite writer, the images of your favorite artist, the beat of your favorite song, to the blooms and leaves on your morning walk. To the wag of your dog’s tail, the sound of the sea, the wind on your face, or the smell of baking bread. Maybe your inspiration comes from someone you know, your job or a celebrity.You just need to connect with your senses and illuminate your mind.

Art has always been my inspiration in life. When something happens that pulls my life apart or forces me to investigate it, I turn to art and it always inspires to do something new, to move in a new direction. It keeps me invigorated…

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