They include mostly non-physical behaviors that the abuser uses to control, isolate, or frighten you. Often, the abuser uses it to break down your self-esteem and self-worth in order to create a psychological dependency on him/her. Emotional and psychological abuse are hard forms of abuse to recognize because the abuse is spread throughout your everyday interactions. Unlike physical abuse, there are often no isolated incidents or clear physical evidence to reference.

There is no clear agreement among experts in the field whether there is a meaningful difference between emotional and psychological abuse. There is some research that suggests that there are slight differences between the two. Emotional abuse is believed to be broader and so psychological abuse is often considered to be one form of emotional abuse. Also, psychological abuse involves the use of verbal and social tactics to control someone’s way of thinking, such as “gaslighting,” which is not necessarily the same as other forms of emotional abuse. Source: WomensLaw.org

A pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5). The disorder is classified in the dimensional model of "Personality Disorders." NPD is highly comorbid with other disorders in mental health. Persons with NPD can often present with impairment in maintaining work and relationships. NPD is under the umbrella of Cluster B personality disorders, which include antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Cluster B typically presents with overtly emotional and unpredictable behavior. Source: National Library of Medicine

Commonly known as Sociopathy — A deeply ingrained and rigid dysfunctional thought process that focuses on social irresponsibility with exploitive, delinquent, and criminal behavior with no remorse. Disregard for and the violation of others' rights are common manifestations of this personality disorder, which displays symptoms that include failure to conform to the law, inability to sustain consistent employment, deception, manipulation for personal gain, and incapacity to form stable relationships. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) classifies all ten personality disorders into three clusters (A, B, and C). Antisocial personality disorder falls into 1 of 4 cluster-B disorders, which also includes borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic. All of these disorders characteristically present with dramatic, emotional, and unpredictable interactions with others. Source: National Library of Medicine

A pattern of highs and lows in which the narcissist confuses their partner through manipulation and calculated behaviors aimed at making their partner question themselves. The cycle has three specific phases: Idealization, devaluation, and rejection. Source: Silvi Saxena, Choosing Therapy

During the initial stage of appreciation and idealization, the narcissist will often shower someone with praise, compliments, and attention in a practice sometimes called love bombing. The point of this stage is to earn the person’s trust, loyalty, and affection. Source: Hailey Shafir, Choosing Therapy

After a narcissist has gained the trust and affection of someone, the next stage involves devaluing the person by criticizing them, gaslighting them, and using other narcissistic abuse tactics. Narcissists often cycle between idealizing and devaluing someone in what feels like a hot/cold relationship before moving to the final stage. Source: Hailey Shafir, Choosing Therapy

Psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator. Source: Merriam Webster

a pattern of cruel, callous treatment mixed in with random bursts of affection. The abuser hands out rewards such as affection, a compliment, or gifts sporadically and unpredictably throughout the abuse cycle. Source: Psych Central

When the narcissist gets bored or decides the person is no longer useful enough to them, they’ll often end the relationship and ‘discard’ the person. Sometimes, this ending is final. Other times, a narcissist will use hoovering to lure the person back into the relationship and repeat the cycle. Source: Hailey Shafir, Choosing Therapy

The No Contact Rule is a widely prescribed strategy to break free from a narcissist. As the name suggests, it involves avoiding any contact with the narcissist, including. Meeting with the narcissist in public or in private. Phone calls — calling yourself or taking calls from the narcissist. Source: Psychologia.co

Method: Grey rocking is a technique used to divert a toxic person's behavior by acting as unresponsive as possible when you're interacting with them. For example, using the gray rock method involves deliberate actions like avoiding eye contact or not showing emotions during a conversation. Source: BetterUp

An organization dedicated to empowering and equipping survivors and helping professionals to address the complexities of narcissistic abuse.

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Clinical psychologist, narcissistic abuse expert and narcissistic abuse relationship coach.

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Licensed clinical social worker & founder of Keep Dreaming Big Project, a non-profit that grants life-enriching wishes for abuse survivors and creates global awareness of hidden, psychological and financial abuse.

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Author of Divorcing a Narcissist (series), founder of One Mom's Battle, and the High Conflict Divorce Coach Certification Program.

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