Breaking the Cycle of Abuse: How to Move Beyond Your Past to Create an Abuse-Free Future"A beacon of hope for women and men who fear that they will pass the abuse they have suffered on to their children, partners, or employees. Humane and compassionate but also clear and down to earth, this is a wonderful contribution to the literature on healing." --Lundy Bancroft, author of When Dad Hurts Mom and Why Does He Do That? "In this remarkably powerful, wise, and compassionate book, Beverly Engel leads readers step by step through a program that will help survivors of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in childhood to heal from their wounds so they don't need to re-enact their abusive pasts. She offers expert advice and strategies to help parents and would-be parents avoid doing to their children what was done to them and helps both abusers and victims in emotionally and physically abusive relationships make vitally important changes in their relationships." --Susan Forward, Ph.D., author of Toxic Parents and Emotional Blackmail If you were emotionally, physically, or sexually abused as a child or adolescent, or if you experienced neglect or abandonment, it isn't a question of whether you will continue the cycle of abuse but rather a question of how--whether you will become an abuser or continue to be a victim. In this breakthrough book, Beverly Engel, a leading expert on emotional and sexual abuse, explains how to stop the cycle of abuse once and for all. Her step-by-step program provides the necessary skills for gaining control over emotions, changing negative attitudes, learning healthy ways of communicating, healing the damage from prior abuse, and seeking out support. Throughout, Engel shares many dramatic personal stories including her own experiences with abusive behavior. Breaking the Cycle of Abuse gives you the power to shatter abusive patterns for good and offers a legacy of hope and healing for you and your family. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Part One Understanding the Legacy of Abuse | 7 |
Part Two Facing the Truth and Facing Your Feelings | 57 |
Part Three Abuse Prevention Strategies | 155 |
Part Four LongTerm Strategies to Help You Break the Cycle | 221 |
Epilogue | 258 |
Resources | 259 |
References | 263 |
| 266 | |
| 270 | |
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Breaking the Cycle of Abuse: How to Move Beyond Your Past to Create an Abuse ... Beverly Engel No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
abuse and neglect abuse or neglect abusive behavior abusive parent adult afraid aggressive alcohol Alice Miller allow anger style avoid become abusive become angry believe blame boundaries break the cycle breath cause chapter child abuse child sexual abuse childhood abuse conflict confrontation continue cycle of abuse damage denial develop domestic violence dysfunctional family emotional abuse emotionally abusive emotionally bond empathy example experience experienced express your anger face the truth family legacy family members father fear feel shame friends heal healthy helplessness hurt identify important learned helplessness molested mother negative neglected or abused one’s overwhelmed pain partner past person physical abuse Posttraumatic Stress Disorder prevent problems PTSD rage reactions reenact rejection relationship repetition compulsion Risk Factor sadness self-esteem situation someone strategies stress survivors take responsibility tell tend therapy things trauma treat triggered unhealthy shame victimlike