| "If
this is love, why do I feel so bad?"
Often the
first indication that there is something wrong in the way you are
being treated is how you feel. You feel uneasy, tense, confused,
like something isn't right. Below is a list of some of the ways
that people say they felt when they were in an abusive relationship.
-
Pressured
-
Confused
-
Guilty, like you
are not good enough
-
Angry
-
Uncomfortable
-
Scared
-
Nervous or tense
-
Humiliated
-
Bad about yourself
-
Trapped
-
Restricted or controlled
(like you have to watch what you do or say)
-
Upset
Listening to your feelings
is important. Think
about how you feel when you are with your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Do you feel any of these things when you are with them?
Abuse can have
an affect on you in all sorts of ways, such as
-
not sleeping properly
-
nausea or headaches
-
abusing alcohol
or drugs
-
anxiety or depression
-
missing classes,
wagging school or taking days off work
-
lower marks at
school or Uni
- constantly
trying to do what they want
-
not communicating
with your parents or family, or lying to them because they might blame
you somehow or stop you from going out
-
feeling like you
can't trust people
-
losing touch with
who you are and what is important to you, your own opinions, feelings,
friends, family
-
having less confidence
in yourself
-
feeling alone and
afraid to tell anyone
Someone
who loves you should help you to feel good about yourself. No-one has the
right to abuse you and make you feel so bad or confused.
To read
more about what it's like in an abusive relationship, see Isabella's
story. You can also read other people's
stories.
|
