Blog posts, news articles, and other resources from The Center • A Place of HOPE
Explore how social media filters impact mental health by shaping self-image, fueling comparison, and affecting self-esteem. Learn ways to navigate social media mindfully for a healthier, more positive online experience.
Gaslighting can undermine your sense of reality. Learn to recognize the signs, understand its impact, and discover empowering strategies to protect yourself and rebuild confidence in your perceptions and experiences.
When we talk about abuse, it’s often physical or sexual abuse that comes to mind. However, emotional abuse is more prevalent than either of these. The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that 95% of their calls relate to emotional abuse[1]. What is emotional abuse? The National Domestic Violence Hotline...
You’ve probably heard of the term “narcissist.” The formal term to describe a narcissist is “narcissistic personality disorder,” and it’s an official mental health diagnosis that’s included in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. Not everyone with narcissistic personality disorder is abusive, and people can and do heal from this condition. However,...
Emotional invalidation dismisses or minimizes someone’s feelings, often causing deep psychological harm. It can manifest through criticism, sarcasm, or outright denial of emotions. Repeated invalidation can damage self-esteem, leading to anxiety, depression, and difficulty forming healthy relationships. Recognizing this behavior is the first step toward emotional healing and setting healthier boundaries.
Emotional abuse can leave deep, lasting scars, affecting self-esteem, relationships, and mental health. Learn to recognize the signs, understand its impact, and explore healing strategies to reclaim your confidence and well-being.
Attachment theory highlights the importance of a strong, healthy attachment in childhood. This important attachment comes at the earliest stages of life to a parent or primary caregiver, usually a mother. This first, fundamental attachment, or relationship, sets the stage for all relationships going forward.
Loss produces pain, so using the term “numbing out” is not a coincidence. So many of the survival strategies used by abused children are meant to do just that—provide a way to numb the pain. You may think you’re avoiding the pain, but you’re not. The pain is still there,...
When you were growing up, you may have been told over and over, in a variety of ways, that you weren’t good enough, smart enough fast enough, thin enough, or just plain not enough of anything to please your parents. In order to numb this crushing sense of failure and...
One of the core traits of a dependent personality is difficulty accepting challenging or disturbing truths about self or others out of a need to maintain the status quo.
Resilient as children are, childhood abuse, in its various forms, can decimate a child's sense of self. Here are ten questions to consider when processing the struggles associated with childhood abuse.
Sheila sat on her bed and cried out in frustration. What was she going to do? The fear she'd been carrying around inside for the past six months finally was realized. He's made it clear that if she wanted to get her promotion, she'd have to "cooperate" with him. Sheila...
“So you really think you can get that job, huh? What a joke! Why in the world would anyone want to hire you?” Jeff’s older brother sneered at him with disgust.“Well, I guess because I’m a hard worker and I’m willing to learn,” Jeff responded angrily, feeling that familiar knot...
Spiritual abuse is used as a way to manipulate and control, and it usurps divine authority in order to promote self, which is the opposite of what God does.
Growing up without emotional security can impact relationships, self-worth, and happiness long-term. Learn about the lasting effects, recognize signs from your own childhood, and discover how to rebuild emotional security and inner peace.
Many times you have probably asked yourself, How did my life ever get this way? Often at the core of every eating disorder, and many disordered eating patterns, lies some sort of abuse or abusive situation—verbal, emotional, physical, sexual abuse, or a combination of these. When this abuse is added...
Introduction Emotional abuse is a form of psychological harm that erodes self-esteem and creates lasting emotional scars. While its effects are often invisible, its consequences can be severe, frequently leading to depression. Understanding how emotional abuse contributes to mental health disorders like depression is crucial for recognizing, addressing, and ultimately...
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The whole person approach to treatment integrates all aspects of a person’s life: