There is something people often do not understand about prolonged emotional abuse: You do not simply “get over it.” You do not experience one hurtful event, cry about it, and wake up the next morning as the same person you were before. When someone repeatedly experiences betrayal, manipulation, control, isolation, emotional punishment, surveillance, instability, and fear, the effects can reach far beyond the relationship itself. They can change how a person thinks, sleeps, reacts, remembers, communicates, trusts, and even understands their own emotions. Sometimes, the person who has been hurt begins to wonder if they are the problem. Why am I crying so much? Why can't I calm down? Why do I keep checking? Why can't I just leave? Why do I feel exhausted all the time? Why do I keep trying to explain my pain to someone who keeps hurting me? The answer is often not that the person is weak, dramatic, or “crazy.” Sometimes, their brain is trying to survive. When Your Home...