As February begins my thoughts go to Valentine’s Day and the true meaning of love. For much of my life I feel that true love has evaded me. And unfortunately many times I have been treated as someone who was unloved rather than loved. This month is the perfect time for me to announce that I have decided to make abuse the focus of my writing and coaching
practice.
This past year as I have transitioned from the mortgage business into being a coach, writer and speaker, I have given much thought to what I feel passionate about. I named my company Life Transitions because I have had so many changes myself, and I wanted to use my life experiences to help others. Change encompasses so many areas of our lives that it has honestly been difficult to focus on one or two issues.
Many of my life experiences involve abuse or are either closely related to abuse. As a woman, I have struggled long and hard to gain my independence. As I grew stronger, I started to volunteer with domestic violence agencies. I soon realized there were many women like me who had been abused. But more importantly, I learned there were many faces of abuse. Often it is unrecognized and unfortunately it is not talked about enough.
I believe many people view abuse as the woman who ends up in the hospital with broken bones or whose body is found at the bottom of the lake. But emotional abuse can be just as devastating. As families we sometimes mistreat those we love perhaps thinking it is acceptable because they are family. Or we abuse our children while calling it discipline.
Webster’s dictionary defines abuse as misuse, mistreat, attack with words, improper use, or coarse and insulting speech. This sheds a whole different light on the issue. Through this magnifying glass I suspect there are many who are guilty of abusing others. I am dedicating the rest of my life to doing all I can to put more emphasis on this horrible activity. It is only when a behavior is recognized and acknowledged that it can be changed.