You’ll See

You think that I can’t live without your love
You’ll see,
You think I can’t go on another day.
You think I have nothing
Without you by my side,
You’ll see
Somehow, some way

You think that I can never laugh again
You’ll see,
You think that you destroyed my faith in love.
You think after all you’ve done
I’ll never find my way back home,
You’ll see
Somehow, someday

Chorus:

All by myself
I don’t need anyone at all
I know I’ll survive
I know I’ll stay alive,
All on my own
I don’t need anyone this time
It will be mine
No one can take it from me
You’ll see

You think that you are strong, but you are weak
You’ll see,
It takes more strength to cry, admit defeat.
I have truth on my side,
You only have deceit
You’ll see, somehow, someday

Chorus2:

All by myself
I don’t need anyone at all
I know I’ll survive
I know I’ll stay alive,
I’ll stand on my own
I won’t need anyone this time
It will be mine
No one can take it from me
You’ll see

You’ll see, you’ll see
You’ll see, mmmm, mmmm

Self Quiz: Am I In An Abusive Relationship?

By Toby D. Goldsmith, MD

Below are some questions and checklists to help you determine if you are in an abusive relationship. Answer the questions honestly. If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, you may be a victim of abuse.
lie to your family, friends and doctor about your bruises, cuts and scratches?

In addition to those questions, consider the following two checklists. The first list includes signs of emotional abuse. You are probably the victim of emotional abuse if your partner:

• Repeatedly gives you destructive criticism, verbal threats and browbeating.
• Always claims to be right.
• Excludes you from making decisions and claims to be the head of the household.
• Abuses your trust by lying, hiding important information and papers, cheating or being inappropriately jealous.
• Minimizes or denies abusive behavior.
• Constantly shows disrespect, puts you down or embarrasses you in front of others.
• Harasses you by following you or checking up on you.
• Prevents you from seeing your relatives or friends or insists on going everywhere with you.
• Monitors your phone calls.

The next list includes signs of physical abuse. You are a victim of physical abuse if your partner:

• Intimidates you through angry or threatening gestures.
• Destroys your belongings or household items.
• Coerces you to have sex or perform sexual acts against your will.
• Kicks, bites, stabs, pushes, burns or chokes you.
• Uses weapons to threaten or harm you or others you love.

If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, or experience these forms of emotional and physical abuse in your relationship, you should seek help. Abuse is not acceptable behavior and is not something you should just learn to live with.

Don’t be a victim that keeps this a silent disease. Seek help from relatives, friends, law enforcement or community resources. With their help, you may be able to stop the abuse or, if necessary, leave the relationship. Realize that once the abuse has started, it will nearly always get worse.

Emotional Injuries

Emotional Injuries

By Toby D. Goldsmith, MD

Emotional abuse does not produce cuts and bruises like physical abuse, so its scars are more difficult to recognize and treat. However, emotional abuse can leave deep scars on the psychological well-being of the victim. Also, emotional abuse often leads to substance abuse, low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, isolation, alienation, anxiety and depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Because women are so often the victims, more is known about their psychological injuries. Psychologist Lenore Walker studied female victims and described a “battered woman syndrome.” She found that women who repeatedly experience physical, sexual or serious emotional abuse tend to be affected in common ways, and begin to show similar behavior. These battered women:

• Minimize and deny the abuse.
• Block the abuse incidents from their memory.
• Have anxiety, fearfulness or panic because of constant stress.
• Numb themselves to avoid dealing with the situation.
• Have recurrent flashbacks of battering episodes.
• Have specific fears and are continually watching out for signs of further harm.

Studies have documented that many battered women suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The likelihood of a PTSD diagnosis and severe PTSD symptoms is correlated with more severe domestic violence experiences.