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7 Things That Show Self-Abuse, Even If You Don’t See It

#2. Making excuses for a toxic partner.

Victor Mong
8 min readOct 25, 2023
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

When we talk about abuse, we tend to focus on the pain people suffer due to the actions of an abuser.

We almost always underestimate how much we abuse ourselves by our actions.

Self-abuse can be just as harmful as mistreatment from others.

And while it’s much easier to recognize when someone’s actions are abusive, it’s much harder to identify self-abuse because it often involves internal behaviors and thoughts.

What are some of the behaviors that people engage in that seem normal, even harmless, but are self-abusive?

Neglecting Your Own Needs

Self-neglect is probably the worst form of self-abuse.

When a person is unable to take care of their own basic needs, they set themselves up for eventual pain.

We’ve been conditioned from an early age to think that caring for others makes us virtuous.

Many people put the needs of family, friends, or work before their own, feeling that taking care of themselves is selfish.

Some people even find self-care uncomfortable and feel guilty when they’re not able to do things for others…

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Victor Mong
Victor Mong

Written by Victor Mong

I write about human potential, building a life you want & mastering your mind || info.victormong@gmail.com

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