Verbal Abuse in Marriage – How to Deal with Verbal Sniping in Abusive Relationships

Emotional verbal abuse in marriage is commonplace in couples of all walks of life. Sometimes it’s an innocent reflexive gesture that comes out unconsciously. And other times, it’s an oral blow intended to smack you across your heart and soul.

The question is what do you do in the moment it comes your way? And then, as a result of this, what follows?

Swallowing Emotional and Verbal Abuse

Spousal abuse survivors become accustomed to swallowing emotional and verbal abuse as though it was part of their daily bread. They come to see it simply as “what he does.”

They know that if they challenge it, there will be more. So, they quietly hold their own…chewing…stewing…digesting the indigestible.

Then the day comes when they say to themselves, “That’s it, no more!” But this doesn’t stop his (or her) being emotionally and verbally abusive.

Dodging Emotional and Verbal Abuse in Marriage

Now, the path of least resistance is to disappear psychologically and hide out inside your skin as though you were not there. For some spousal abuse survivors, this method of dealing with verbal emotional abuse may “work” temporarily.

It’s like you don’t allow the dart to pierce your flesh, but the fact that you see it coming still hurts your soul. From here, you suffer in silence.

Responsibly Deflecting Verbal Emotional Abuse

Imagine for a moment that you had the skill, felt the freedom and knew the safety of openly sending the dart back for you partner to own. Now, I realize that this sounds like a tall order for those in an abusive relationship.

Moreover, it is not your responsibility to stop him (or her) from being emotionally and verbally abusive toward you. But it is your responsibility to set your own boundaries and own the impact of your partner’s actions upon you. 

From here, he/she can see what he/she is doing and can chose to change what he/she may not even be aware of doing. Sometimes batterers throw out emotional verbal pot shots without even realizing they are doing it.

This interaction pattern is so ingrained in them that they themselves don’t even know when they are sniping their survivor spouse. All they see is that their partner has become “cold and withdrawn” again.

Interrupting the Cycle of Emotional Verbal Abuse in Marriage

If you are in a relationship characterized by habitual verbal and emotional abuse, seek to become aware of your options for dealing with it. There are situations in which you can influence this pattern, and there are situations in which your only choice is to leave.

If you are at the stage in your relationship in which you have not thrown the towel in, but have personally run out of ways to deal with the verbal abuse in your marriage, then consider “abusive relationship therapy.”

Abusive relationship therapy, commonly known as domestic abuse counseling, is treatment for combative behavior in the context of relationship therapy. It can consist of a conjoint and an individual component to best address domestic abuse dynamics.

For more information on verbal abuse, join our Inner Sanctuary Online community and get daily insights on understanding and healing all forms of narcissistic domestic abuse www.InnerSanctuaryOnline.org

For help in your own relationship, visit our dinosaur website here (until the new one is complete)  https://www.preventabusiverelationships.com/domestic_violence_trt.php

Dr. Jeanne King, psychologist and author, helps people break the cycle of narcissistic, domestic abuse and find wholeness, happiness and harmony.

© Dr Jeanne King PhD – Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention