The domestic abuse treatment center is the ideal place for all the survivors who cannot go home or have anyone to look after or is suffering from physical or psychological trauma. Domestic abuse is a traumatic experience for anyone who is suffering from it or has suffered from it. Because it usually takes place behind closed doors, it is easy to oversee or clarify it away.

Abuse can be in any form, ranging from physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, financial control, and psychological actions or threats meant to harm or influence. It can occur at whatever stage in life and of every, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, and financial foundation. Abuse victims may experience an extensive range of physical and mental health symptoms caused by domestic abuse trauma. It can cause depression, suicidal tendencies, panic attacks, drug or alcohol abuse disorders, STDs, and health issues.

Domestic Abuse Aftermath:

One of the lesser recognized results of domestic violence is post-traumatic disorder. It can develop after a very stressful, frightening, or distressing event, or after an extended traumatic experience. People who suffer from the abuse are most likely to develop PTSD but not all of them develop it since they are much stronger than anticipated. It is not a sign of weakness.

The most common symptoms of PTSD found in the survivor of domestic abuse are:

Reliving aspects 

• vivid flashbacks of the past trauma
• Disturbing thoughts and nightmares
• Experiencing extreme distress just by the reminder of the past abuse.
• Trembling, experiencing physical sensations such as pain or experiencing nausea and sweating extensively. 

Reactivity:

• Sudden incomprehensible anger.
• Extreme outbursts.
• Trouble being reached emotionally
• Difficulty in falling asleep
• Feeling of being emotionally numb
• Getting startled easily.

The Feeling of Being on Edge:

This may include:

• extreme hypervigilance
• Aggressive behavior
• Unable to focus on simple tasks even house chores.
• Experiencing symptoms of anxiety.

Difficulting in Trusting:

• Difficulty in trusting anyone
• Feeling like nowhere is safe
• Thinks nobody can understand them
• Self-blaming
• overwhelming feelings of guilt or shame.

What are The Psychological Effects of Domestic Abuse?

People who have experienced a traumatic event in the past often experience guilt and shame about why they didn’t stand up for themselves or reacted in the way they did. Domestic abuse has major health and public health consequences. 

Mistreatment can cause victims to feel isolation, terror, and distrust, and can cause lifelong psychological issues such as learning difficulties, stammer, low self-esteem, depression, and trouble forming and maintaining relationships.

How to Know If It is Domestic Violence? 

It is not always that obvious because it is all about controlling the victim’s mind and emotions as much as hurting their body. Being abused can leave them scared and confused. There is usually a cycle that abusers follow with their victims.

Domestic Violence Cycle of Abuse:

At every stage in the cycle, the abuser is fully in control of themselves and is working to control and further isolate their victim. They manipulate the victims into thinking they truly are not to blame for the violence, and that they are the real victims.

Six distinct stages make up the cycle of violence are: 

Abuse:

The first abuse their victims and it can be in any form either physical, emotional, financial, or social

Guilt:

An abuser experiences self-directed guilt. They do not feel guilty or sorry for hurting their victim. They might apologize for their previous behavior. The main aim of the guilt stage is to assure them that they will not be caught or face consequences.

Rationalization

They make excuses and blame the victim for their behavior. The most repeated and common excuses are that they were intoxicated or abused as a child.

Acting normal:

After becoming victims themselves the abusers start acting normal as if nothing has happened. This behavior makes victims feel crazy as they don’t understand how abusers can pretend as if nothing has happened.

Fantasy and Planning:

At this stage, abusers start planning and making scenarios in their heads about how they are going to torture the victim next time.

Set-up:

At this stage, the abuser set up the victim and puts their plans into action

In many countries, there is no financial help for domestic abuse victims and some victims might face discrimination in securing any type of insurance, including health, life, disability, and property insurance. They usually have problems raising their children as they are traumatized by their past and do face discrimination too.

Although psychological abuse can be harder to define than obvious physical abuse, it has been found to cause at least as much damage. Victims of paramour violence are more vulnerable to developing depression, anxiety, and other disorders.

Treatment for the Victim:

Getting and keeping the victim safe is an initial and important part of treating domestic abuse. Many legal health professionals recommend counselling for domestic abuse victims which includes encouraging the victim to always keep a charged cell phone with them, keeping an active peace in life, having a restraining order against the abuser, always having a copy of the order, along with distributing copies of the order to the victim’s supervisor, workplace reception area, and security, as well as to schools and daycare of children. 

What are the Goals of This Treatment?

The treatment’s main goals are:

• Counselling for emotional trauma
• Treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, self-harm, or other mental problems
• Legal support for victims
• Teach victims to develop skills to gain financial independence from their abusers through financial management programs 
• Training and support for employment
• Provide psychotherapy 

Domestic violence is a serious issue that affects millions of people every year despite their gender, age, or social status. While it is important to recognize it and treat it, it is correspondingly a lot to deal with counteraction, by advancing steady, supporting, conscious, and peaceful connections and networks, where equality is focused on.  It is very important to seek help as soon as possible or if you encounter that your loved one is experiencing violence encourage them to seek help.