Name: Emotional Abuse You Didn’t Realize Was Happening (What To Do)
Uploaded: 2026-01-10T18:21:05.000Z
Duration: 7 min 16 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

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You're talking with someone you care about when they slip in a comment that hits a little too hard.

Not with yelling or obvious cruelty, but with small moments that make you question yourself.

A comment that leaves you doubting what you felt.

Most people brush these things off, but when they start, they can subtly and gradually wear you down.

They chip away at your confidence, your boundaries, and even how you see yourself.

If you've been feeling drained or unsure around certain people, this video will help you understand what's going on and how to notice the early signs before they grow into something harder to escape.

So what are the signs that these moments are not just one offs?

Here are the subtle warning signs many people miss.

Most people expect emotional abuse to be loud and dramatic Someone yelling, insulting you, or making threats.

But the truth is, emotional abuse is often quiet.

It can be any harmful words or behaviors meant to exert power and control over you.

Here are some examples of red flags people often Helpful criticism that is not actually helpful.

Do they disguise hurtful comments as jokes or honesty?

Your choices, hobbies, friends or appearance?

But if you react, rush to tell you relax because they're just kidding.

It's a way to tear you down while pretending they didn't mean to hurt you.

They give you affection, compliments or support, but

only when it benefits them or keeps you attached or dependent on them.

One day they're warm and attentive, the next they're cold or irritable and you have no idea why.

You start overthinking everything, trying harder and harder to keep the peace.

Even though they never tell you what you supposedly did wrong, you feel like you're always walking on eggshells.

They punish you with silence, distance, or coldness.

Their attention becomes a reward you get only when you behave the way they want.

Sometimes it's disguised as a joke, a teasing comment, or a moment where they didn't mean to embarrass you.

Maybe they make fun of your insecurities in front of other people or mock your feelings when you open up.

Either way, when someone repeatedly puts you down, even subtly, they can chip away at your sense of self worth, making you easier to control.

This one can be confusing because at first glance, it sounds like normal conflict.

But what makes it abusive is the pattern and the intention behind it.

If someone constantly threatens to leave whenever you don't obey, agree, or give in, that's not communication.

These signs may seem small on their own, but emotional abuse is about patterns, not isolated incidents.

One of the hardest truths to accept is most people don't ignore emotional abuse because they're weak.

They ignore it because the brain is wired to protect what feels familiar, even when that familiarity hurts.

Maybe the first comment felt like a joke.

Maybe the first silent treatment felt like space.

Maybe the first lie felt like a misunderstanding.

So instead of calling it abuse, you explained it away.

Your brain looks for the safest explanation.

Psychologists call this cognitive dissonance.

When what you're experiencing doesn't match what you want to believe, then to reduce the discomfort, you twist your reality until it feels survivable.

Or cling to the good moments to justify the painful ones.

The cycle keeps you too confused to leave and too hopeful to let go.

If you've ever stayed longer than you should have, please hear this.

It doesn't mean you're broken, and it means you're human.

Your brain was trying to protect you the only way it knew how, by holding on.

But if you're starting to see things, you're already taking the first brave step, acknowledging that something is wrong.

Emotional abuse thrives in confusion and silence.

Awareness creates distance, and distance helps you think more clearly.

You can express your feelings, but you can't convince someone to stop abusing you.

Protect your energy instead of trying to win their understanding.

A real boundary is not a request, it is an action.

Instead of don't talk to me like that, say if you talk to me like that, I will leave the conversation and 5 focus on strengthening yourself, not on saving them.

You can't control their choices, their actions, or the way they treat you, but

you can control the care, protection and compassion you give to yourself.

When you pour energy back into your own resilience, boundaries and self worth, you slowly build a sense of safety that does not depend on anyone else.