Let’s see, Will used to forget when we planned to go out with friends of “mine” or get together with my family for dinner. He’d forget we had family evenings planned at the YWCA, and he would forget that I had doctor appointments when I was pregnant. He never heard the heartbeat of our first baby.
He also “forgets” entire conversations. Important ones. He’ll forget that I have plans and writing our schedules on the family calendar doesn’t help because it isn’t his job to read the calendar.
When he purposely and regularly forgets things that are important to me, he is in effect telling me that my time, energy and health are unimportant and he cannot be held accountable for wasting it. Only his schedule is important, so that means he is in control of mine, too. Period.
Other Types of Verbal Abuse
- Abuse Disguised as a Joke
- Abusive Anger
- Accusing & Blaming
- Blocking and Diverting
- Countering
- Denial
- Deprivation or Withholding
- Discounting
- Judging and Criticizing
- Name Calling
- Ordering & Demanding
- Threatening Behavior And Words
- Trivializing
- Undermining
Based on the book The Verbally Abusive Relationship
by Patricia Evans, ISBN 1558503048, Adams Media, February 2003 and my experiences with verbal abuse.