Displaying Abusive Behaviours

Do you recognise that you are displaying abusive behaviours or tactics to your partner, ex-partner or someone in your family? 

Are you concerned your actions are harming your relationships? 

It endangers and causes fear of violence, alarm and distress to the victim. With support, you can change your attitudes and behaviour.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 999

Do you find yourself:

  • Excusing your behaviour because of external factors like work or family stress?
  • Excusing your behaviour due to financial stress?
  • Blaming the person you’re abusing for your own actions?
  • Minimising the harm your behaviour has caused?
  • Refusing to take responsibility for your behaviour despite recognising it?

Millions of people experience financial, work, family, personal stress, and poor mental health without using abuse as an outlet.

One of the first steps to ending abuse is to take full responsibility for your behaviour.

Perpetrator

Signs you are displaying abusive behaviours:

  • Controlling their finances

  • Controlling what they wear
  • Controlling who they see
  • Extreme jealousy when they are with friends or family
  • Using belittling language or enjoying humiliating them in public or in front of children

Why you might be in denial:

  • It makes you feel better in the short term
  • You don’t have to do anything about it if you don’t take responsibility for your behaviour
  • You don’t have to stop the violence because there’s nothing you can do to prevent it from happening again

Impact of abusive behaviour

The impact of domestic abuse can be both visible and invisible. Your actions could be:

  • Leaving physical bruises, cuts, scars, burns, and other injuries on others
  • Leaving long-term emotional and psychological scars on the adults and the children you are being abusive towards
  • Stopping other people from fulfilling their potential to live a full and happy life
  • Impacting a child’s emotional well-being and cognitive development
  • Causing long-term irreversible trauma to an infant’s brain development