Psychic confusion and loss of identity

Mental fog and permanent doubt

The most immediate and devastating effect of the aggressor's subtle actions is the "psychic confusion" of the victim.

Since the abuse is carried out without blows and often without direct insults, but by means of insinuations, silences and double meanings, the victim loses her references of reality.

The aggressor issues destabilizing messages without provoking open conflict, leading the woman to doubt her own perceptions: "Did this really happen or did I imagine it?".

This corrosive doubt settles in her mind, fueled by the aggressor's constant denial of any claim.

The victim lives in a state of bewilderment and incomprehension, unable to articulate a coherent discourse about what is happening to her, because everything is vague, "unspeakable" and subterranean.

Inhibition and loss of spontaneity

In an attempt to survive in this hostile environment and to avoid further aggression or criticism, the victim begins to radically modify his behavior.

She loses her natural spontaneity, since every word she says, every gesture she makes and even the way she dresses are previously analyzed by her mental filter to check if they could displease her partner.

A progressive self-censorship takes place: the woman stops giving her opinion, stops laughing and turns off her vitality in order not to generate conflicts.

She desperately tries to conform to what she believes the aggressor expects of her, filing her comments and disguising her discomfort before third parties so as not to break the image of the "perfect partner" that he demands.

The annulment of the self (vital amputation)

Over time, this process leads to an annulment of identity. The victim no longer thinks for herself; her mind has been "colonized" by the fear of confrontation.

She ends up adopting the aggressor's opinions and worldview, renouncing her own values and desires.

The abuser, through destructive criticism and constant mockery of everything she represents, succeeds in making the victim internalize a negative image of herself, feeling useless, clumsy and guilty.

An "amputation of vitality" takes place: the woman who was once cheerful and confident becomes a shadow, an inhibited being without energy, whose only function is to orbit around the needs of the abuser.

Summary

The immediate effect of subtle abuse is profound psychic confusion. Receiving contradictory messages and constant denials, the victim loses his or her reality references and begins to obsessively doubt his or her own perception and sanity.

To survive in this hostile environment, the woman loses her spontaneity and modifies her behavior. She continuously self-censors, analyzing every word and gesture to avoid conflict, dampening her vitality to conform to the aggressor's demands.

Over time, this process leads to a total annulment of identity or "vital amputation". The victim stops thinking for himself, colonized by fear, becoming an inhibited shadow turned to the executioner.