Many people live each day of their lives with the consequences of being abused.
Some of these people were mentally abused and some were physically abused.
Whatever happened to them, they will never forget it and they think about it almost every day.
Even if these people are not aware of how this abuse affected them, their lives and the way they think and act are affected.
This is especially true if the abuse happened while the person was a child.
When a person is between 3-7 years old, they learn how to act by watching their parents.
The parents are role models, teaching the child how to talk and how to act.
This is a very important developmental age where children are like little sponges, soaking up all of their parents actions and mimicking them.
If the parents are abusive then the child is going to think that it's acceptable and the way things work.
Not all children will go on to become abusive to their children, but it will affect how they act and handle situations.
When a father is abusive to their daughter, the daughter will grow up seeking out males that will treat her the same way her father did.
Since she was so young when she was abused, it's now built into her mind and she will unconsciously seek it out.
Son's abused by their fathers or that watched their mothers abused by their fathers will think that this type of behavior is okay.
They may grow up and begin abusing their own spouses, starting the same vicious cycle over again.
I was abused myself.
I was roughed up quite often as a teenager.
This caused me to stay in my room as often as possible, out of the way, with less chance to be picked on.
Later in life, this caused me to develop social anxiety.
I find it hard to have good conversations with anyone that I am not familiar with.
Since I avoided being social to protect myself, it's built into my brain and being social caused me a lot of anxiety.
I've been to counseling for social anxiety and still have trouble with it to this day.
Abuse can happen in many different forms and it never leaves someone unscathed.
With abuse being so common, there are thousands of cases of anxiety, depression and many other conditions caused by abuse.
Not only do children suffer from these consequences, but so do adults.
Many women are abused by men every year in this country.
Sometimes they get smacked around, but sometimes it leads people to be seriously injured or killed.
Abuse is still very serious to this day.
If you notice that someone is being abused or is abusing someone else, please recommend that they get help.
If it is caught early, hopefully not too much harm has been done.
There are programs and groups that meet on the subject of abuse.
There is also rehabilitation for abusers and victims of abuse.
It doesn't have to be what defines you.