It is a common belief that an abusive relationship means physical abuse towards someone. That is one way of looking at things.

Physical abuse is a nasty form of violence done to someone but that is not the only abuse that occurs in a relationship. You will be surprised to know that there are more on the list.

Risk factor in abuse relationship is trying to gain control over someone or a group of people. Especially in a marriage, the husband might feel that he is superior to the wife, thus he has the authority to do as he pleases. The most disturbing factor here is that the dominator tries to dominate every aspect of the other person.

It seems that the other person does not have a will of her own. She is dependent on her husband to make decisions for her, when she is very well capable of doing so herself. At the same time, the husband also expects her to obey his every word and do as he tells her to do without any question. In other words, the abuser always sees the victim subservient to him.

In an abusive relationship, the abuser has the tendency of torturing the victim by insulting her all the time. He would say that she is incapable of doing anything, she does not look good, she dresses funny, she does not come from a good family etc. in other words he tries to look down upon her in every possible way.

These insults have a terrible impact on the victim. She not only loses her self-esteem and confidence, but after a while, she actually starts to believe in everything the abuser has to say. The end result – after a while she starts to hate herself.

Isolating the victim from the rest of the family and friends is also another trick to gain control over her life. By becoming isolated, she will not have a chance to escape the problematic relationship and at the same time, she will be trapped in it forever. This will also keep the abuser safe, as no one will get to know what he is doing.