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Emotional abuse is when someone tries to make you feel bad. This can be saying things on purpose to scare you, put you down, humiliate or hurt you.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse

Transcript

I wish my mum had never left Dad for him. He was always criticising me, calling me names. It made me really depressed. I just used to cry in my room. I wanted to tell Mum but I didn’t want to upset. It must have been my fault – why else would he do it?

I’d cut myself to feel better. Not badly, but enough so it hurt. It would take my mind off things.

My mates at school knew what I was doing. They said I should speak to ChildLine so I could talk to someone. I felt really bad. I wanted it to stop. I couldn’t keep hiding it. So I called.

I didn’t get through first time but when I did I didn’t tell them everything at first just bit by bit.

They gave me the confidence to speak to my dad about it. So he helped me. I live with him now. I’m happy.

 
 
 
 
 

Emotional abuseWhat is emotional abuse?
Emotional abuse is when someone tries to make you feel bad. This can be saying things to scare you, putting you down, embarrassing or humiliating you. This might be on purpose or without realising what they are saying or doing is making you feel bad. If someone is always telling you that you're ugly, or fat, or stupid, or worthless, or that they wish you'd never been born, that's emotional abuse. It's wrong, even if they are not doing it on purpose.

If this is happening to you, you might think that it's your fault. It isn't. No-one has the right to emotionally abuse you. If you speak out about it, there are people who care - they will listen to you and help you.

 

What if no-one believes me?
It can be hard to explain why someone is making you feel bad. It might feel strange or embarrassing to talk about it, but we are here to listen to you, and you can say anything you want to your ChildLine counsellor. No-one is going to laugh at you or say they don't believe you.

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I'm being emotionally abused, is it my fault?
No - no-one has the right to emotionally abuse you.

My friend's Mum is always shouting and threatening her - is that emotional abuse?
If your friend is scared or depressed because of the way her Mum treats her, this could be emotional abuse. The best thing to do is talk to your friend and suggest that they call ChildLine or talk to an adult they trust. If that doesn't work, talk to us yourself.

If you are being emotionally abused or you are worried about anything, you can call us to talk to someone who can help.

Was this information about emotional abuse useful to you?

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You can call ChildLine at any time on 0800 1111 to speak to a counsellor. Calls are free and confidential.

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Emotional abuse 

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