by Blair Worthington

Created on: January 15, 2011   Last Updated: January 18, 2011

Abuse is an ugly word that can steal a lot of potential from the victims it claims. Whether the abuse is physical, emotional or sexual it doesn’t make any difference in terms of the psychological pain that is inflicted. Many times, the abuse victim has suffered so much psychological trauma that they are beaten down emotionally, and made to feel that they are of little worth as a human being. This kind of belief is extremely damaging to one’s self esteem. If the victim internalizes this type of belief, they can be prone to depression, dysfunctional patterns and possible alcohol or drug abuse. Healing is possible, but the journey to regaining self esteem can take some significant work. Below are several ways that rebuilding self esteem can be accomplished.

#1 Seek Therapy

There is always a consequence of injury that happens as the result of abuse. The injury may be suppressed from childhood, or it may be a current ongoing abuse issue. Seeking therapy from a knowledgeable practitioner can be a big step in rebuilding self esteem.

Many times an abused person has difficulty with boundary or trust issues. There may be a lack of emotion, or in contrast hypersensitivity to every emotion. This usually surfaces in the form of disproportionate emotional reactions to an event or toward others. Sometimes the abused inflict self-harm or suffer from eating disorders. There may be blame, shame, or responsibility issues where the abused person seems to take all responsibility for everything (even for things that are not their fault). Or conversely, the abused may take no responsibility in their life at all.

As you can see, there is a flood of behavioral and emotional patterns that can take over the psyche of an abuse victim. These issues are often quite complicated and need to be worked out with an experienced therapist who understands the particular challenges that the victim faces. A therapist may enlist the help of different tools and practices to help the person heal from their emotional pain.  Some tools that a therapist may utilize are:

Art or Music Therapy

Guided Imagery or Use of Self Affirmations

Cognitive Therapy

Pet Therapy

Many of these therapies help the victim get in touch with their feelings while getting to the root of behavioral patterns. The victim may be able to gain great strides through therapy and gradually see themselves as strong individuals with the power to make big changes in their life. This can result in an increase of hope

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