Abuse and Self Esteem:

RELATIVES TO EACH OTHER

Abuse and self esteem are relatives to each other. They go hand in hand in our world in the cases of Domestic Violence, Neglect, Abandonment, Divorce even. Wives, husbands, children, exes are all victims. Sex of the offender or of the Victim can be either. It can go from generation to generation without breaking the cycle, unless someone intervenes. Or someone tries hard enough on their own to make that break them-self.

Are you a victim or an abuser? Whether you are on one side of the fence or the other it means you have low self esteem in some sense. The abuser has a low self esteem and a need to feed upon another person's weakness in order to build up their own self esteem, so they can feel powerful. It is only a temporary fix however, so they must continue this vicious cycle in order to feel better about their-self.

The victim, the abused one, who is the one that's the pawn used in the abuser's on-going cycle of never-ending shame. The victim suffers the most harm in order to make the abuser feel better about his/herself. The victim's self esteem drops to an all-time low. Sometimes bringing the victim to the very brink of hades itself, in which the victim commits suicide. All because the victim felt that he/she was of no worth, had no value and nothing to offer in this life. Therefore, nothing to live for and no reason to continue, so suicide seemed to be a logical option.

I overcame abuse and low self esteem. I can talk about my story to help others. Even if you don't have any experience you can still help. Don't sit and listen to someone degrade another human being or them-self. Stop them, correct them. Then tell the person that was being degraded that they are a good and worthy person. Support and uplift your fellow man. It starts at home and in our own neighborhoods. Also, help those being abused get help. If they are afraid acknowledge their fear, never ever put them down for being afraid. Let them know there are programs and agencies that can help them when they are ready. Don't push them if they aren't yet. Also, let them know that they may choose to seek resources ahead of time in case of some major event. Remind them that they are a good person and deserve good things. Sometimes, they have been so brainwashed that they haven't heard that in a long time and just hearing it may eventually help them decide to reach out.

Society must somehow help both the abusers and the victims break these cycle of abuse and being abused. The feeling of low self esteem must be elevated to a higher self esteem in order to allow these people to once again value themselves.

For Info And Statistics on Domestic Violence:

www.acog.org(quiz to see if you're in an abusive relationship)
www.brokenspirits.com