The Coach's Couch

Heidi Simmons

Certified Life Coach

In Part 1 of our series on emotional and verbal abuse, we defined emotional abuse as negative and hurtful behavior used to control, belittle, show indifference and undermine another person. Verbal abuse is a systematic, ongoing use of harmful words, which includes bullying, yelling, ridiculing and false accusations.

Both behaviors are manipulative and work in tandem, to crush the confidence and self-worth of another. Whether inflicted by a spouse, family member, co-worker, boss or friend, to stop this vicious “cycle” of abuse takes awareness, tools and streng...