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This is an excellent overview of what abuse is.  Many think that domestic violence is all about the physical attacks...but in my case, it was the emotional degradation and verbal abuse that nearly destroyed me.  I became so depressed that I holed up in my little computer room - and only came out to bathe, etc.  Leaving the house for even the simplest of reasons, i.e., grocery shopping, bill paying, etc. became an opportunity for him to accuse me of whatever was in his pea-brained head at the moment, and eventually I didn't go out at all - for any reason.  I stopped cleaning, cooking, doing laundry....all of it.  Even when I began to shut completely down he didn't stop his abuse....and began using my isolation as yet another button to push, another way to make me feel like I was worth less than nothing.  He would scream at me that he did more every day just by waking up than I did in a week.  This went on for several months....until one day my Brother called out of concern that he and the rest of the family hadn't heard from me in quite a while.  While I was on the phone with him, my wonderful husband chose to make his latest 'opinions' known to whoever it was that I was talking to on the phone.  It was at that moment that my Brother saw (and knew) that I was in a very bad place....and that it was time for the family to intercede on my behalf.  They were so supportive, and didn't bother dealing with my husband directly - instead they found ways to communicate with me privately and helped me crawl out from my nightmare of isolation and hopelessness.  If it hadn't been for my family, I don't know that I would be here today.  I was very close to doing something so permanent that nothing could have been done to reverse my decision.  

All in all, I guess I should be thankful for simply being alive today.  I hope others who may read this realize that abuse is abuse - no matter what form it comes in.

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