Tag: Psychological Abuse

  • Abuse Culture Tips: Questions and Thoughts to Keep in Mind

    Updated version of an article originally published on Medium. When it comes to abuse, there’s much confusion surrounding what to do, who to blame, etc. In polyamory, this can be further complicated by the amount of people involved and how they are involved. But never fear; there are some things to keep in mind no…

  • Abuse and Mental Illness

    Abuse or Mental Illness? In discussing mental illness, and specifically PTSD and other trauma-related disorders, I mentioned that some symptoms of mental illness can mimic abuse. I say mimic because while these symptoms may look the same as abuse, they are not about trying to control. Here’s a classic example: My partner has several mental…

  • “There’s no right way to do polyamory!” (But there’re lots of wrong ways)

    I mentioned last week that often good ideas or positive statements can become tools for abusers. Within polyamory, “There’s no right way to do poly” has become one of these tools. In theory, the idea that there is no right way to do poly is meant to be an affirmation. You don’t need to fit…

  • Types of Abuse

    Abuse can take several forms, and being able to recognize abuse when it happens is the first step in addressing it. So today we are going to look at some types of abuse, and a couple examples of how they might occur in polyamorous relationships. Not everything here is always abusive. Yelling, for instance, is…