Abuse is "to use or treat so as to injure or damage" according to Merriam Webster. Physical abuse is the type of abuse that is easiest to identify because it involves a physical action. When talking about emotional abuse, for many it can be hard to readily identify when it is happening, because oftentimes emotionally abusive behaviors can fly over our radar when they are familiar to what we might have experienced in childhood.

We learn how to add, subtract, read, and write in school, but sadly we are never really taught what healthy relationships look like. We are left stumbling around trying to figure that out on our own. Our parents, the internet, and our friends serve as reference points, but if they each portray unhealthy relationships, then unfortunately we are left to repeat behaviors that may lead us into relationships that are the equivalent of eating a whole tub of ice cream; temporarily satisfying, but in the long-run we don't feel good.