Identifying an Abusive Relationship: The Power of a Diagnosis in Understanding and Treating Domestic Abuse by Dr. Jeanne King, Ph. D.
The value of the diagnostic label has more to do with the way it impacts the person with the condition than anything else. Can you remember a time in your life when you have a medical condition and you received the diagnosis that immediately lifted weights off your shoulders and sent you to remedy your condition?
My senses, the propelling one into remedy can happen no matter what the diagnosis. This is what I call the power of the label. Before we give a specific condition a name, it is a vague cluster of symptoms that may or may not seem related.
In the medical world, one may either self-diagnosed or seek professional care to receive or sustain and initiate the diagnosis and from here obtain a definitive treatment plan.
The confusion in self-diagnosis when psychological denial is involved.
When it comes to psychosocial conditions diagnosis becomes even more clarified and ultimately remedied starting especially in conditions in which the defensive mechanism of denial place such a large part. Here is why.
The mechanism that supports the condition is not part of the determination of the condition and consequently the process of identification is not less likely to be sabotaged.
For example, as a domestic violence survivor, we all know the power of rationalization. So, let us say we are looking at a larger list of symptoms characterizing into department of virus. What happens?
We may say, “Oh, yeah, this is going on in my relationship and mentally check that item.” And go on to the next and again see the second item alive in our relationship and each item looks familiar, a little light starts to go off saying, “I am in an abusing relationship but quickly to the rescue is our psychic defense ready to serve and protect our ego and it says, “Well, he called me whore because he was just at my receiving attention at the party last night.”
And confounding his jealousy making it explicit self in its way was just invulnerability in the moment as I know he has been hurting of losing his job. Look at the exquisite analysis fast relation and justification will play here.
The value of diagnosis in psychosocial conditions objectively.
This is a common response to filling out a checklist or reading a larger list of domestic abuse symptoms are defensive mechanisms that serve to protect us and our loved ones with more often than not keep us blind and confused and of course, with this leading us without direction or remedy nor motivation to repair our circumstances.
I can not stress the importance of putting the natural self-serving defenses to rest when you are seeking to know if you are in an abusive relationship, getting a definitive, objective diagnosis can put you in the stock guessing mode and into the start treating mode in moments.
For more information on how to diagnose an abusive relationship, visit www.preventabusiverelationship.com. Dr. Jeanne King helps people properly identify intimate partner violence and end and heal from domestic abuse.
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