Intimate partner violence (IPV) can have crippling and long-term effects on a victim. Worse, some of these effects might translate to children, relatives, and other people who are close to the couple.
If you or your loved one is experiencing violence from an intimate partner, contact a domestic violence attorney for the required legal help.
What Constitutes Intimate Partner Violence?
Although women make up the largest number of domestic abuse victims, there’s also a significant portion of men experiencing the same. It’s also important to remember that IPV is a global problem and can occur in any cultural, social, economic, and religious context.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), partner violence can manifest in the following ways:
- Physical Assault: Involves acts such as beating, kicking, hitting, and pushing.
- Psychological Abuse: such as threats to leave, blackmails, verbal insults, humiliation, belittling, manipulation, and so on.
- Sexual Violence: Having sexual intercourse with an intimate partner against their will. This includes spousal rape and sexual coercion.
- Controlling Habits: These are behaviors meant to limit a partner from fulfilling their human needs like social connection. A spouse might restrict their partner’s movements, isolate them from friends and family, or limit access to their finances.
Mental Health Effects of Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence has both physical and psychological effects on a victim and people around them. Some of the common mental health effects of IPV include:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
TBI is among the most detrimental effects of intimate partner violence. This condition develops when the head experiences a sudden jolt, blow, bump, or penetration of an object into the brain.
An IPV victim might develop a brain injury when their partner hits their head with an object, smashes against the wall, or pushes them that they fall and injure their head.
Some symptoms of TBI resulting from IPV include memory loss, slurred speech, trouble sleeping, headaches, and memory loss. A brain injury can also cause or worsen other mental conditions like anxiety and depression.
Depression
Depression manifests as a chronic mental health condition among victims of IPV. Scientific studies show that women who have experienced domestic abuse in the past report continuous depressive episodes even after separation from their partner.
The anxiety, fear, and chronic stress associated with being in a violent relationship is a disastrous recipe for depression. As the severity of violence increases, so do the depressive symptoms.
Victims can get relief by visiting a mental health counselor but this is not always the case. Some partners are afraid of being diagnosed with depression because it might compromise their chances of winning a child custody case.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD occurs as a result of experiencing a traumatic event. Any shocking situation that involves a threat to your life, causes fear, and feelings of hopelessness can be defined as traumatic. If you have experienced one or all forms of intimate partner violence, then you’ve been through trauma.
Some of the symptoms of PTSD are isolation from people, emotional numbness, flashbacks, resorting to alcohol, and constant angry outbursts. Consider seeking mental health help if you begin experiencing related symptoms after partner violence.
Suicidal Thoughts
Suicidal thoughts after domestic violence can occur independently or caused by existing conditions like depression and stress.
Low self-esteem that is associated with IPV can cause negative thoughts and self-loathing, increasing the intensity of suicidal thoughts. The American Psychological Association (APA) affirms that IPV survivors are likely to have multiple suicide attempts.
People with suicidal thoughts might feel hopeless, trapped, behave recklessly, fall into alcohol and hard drugs, isolate themselves from other people, among other symptoms. If you are having suicidal thoughts after partner abuse, talk to someone you trust or a mental health professional.
