Yesterday, I was sitting next to a car at a red light and heard a man yelling at the woman who was driving. When I looked over, she was just staring straight ahead waiting for the light to change. She looked sorrowful, downtrodden, and heartbroken.
If you’ve never had someone close to you being abused, then you are blessed.
There are many types of abuse. Most people think of physical abuse, but there are also emotional and verbal abuse that are closely tied together. Usually, when there’s one, another or all are present.
Watching someone being abused is not easy. It is one of those situations where you cannot help the person until they are ready to be helped. They have to reach their limit and hit the rock bottom of abuse where the risk of being abused or worse is less than leaving the abuser, at least in their mind.
There is always help! There are secret places to go. That is what the abused person needs to know.
I hope that lady in the car gets help. I hope she knows she deserves more.
I hope she takes more action than waiting for the light to change. Things aren’t going to change until she makes them change.
Sometimes emotional abuse is worse than physical because the victim and others around him or her don’t even realize it’s happening until great damage is already done. It can be much harder to seek help from outsiders, and it’s also hard to see what’s happening to oneself in that situation!