“Okay, so if the ‘Threat’ of violence is invisible, how do you even know it exists—that it’s not jut part of your ‘imagination.'”
So, when a threat of violence lives in a place, let’s say a home, workspace, or neighborhood, it shows up in symptoms. When a cold starts up, you get a scratchy throat or a sneezy nose. When an environment starts threatening, you get ongoing mean behaviors, constrictions, secrets, and more
To paint you a good picture, here’s a long but not exhaustive symptom list of behaviors in a threatening environment.
Sniping sarcasm
Embittered voice tones
Disregard of opinions
Overly authoritarian discipline
Financial rigidity used as control
Severely restricted social engagement
Adult depression
Adult narcissism
Exposure to age inappropriate activities and behaviors
Isolation from family, friends, or social supports
Lying
Keeping secrets
Sneaking around
Substance abuse
Insults and demeaning verbalizations
Unsafe social and physical environments
Not being believed
Rigid male/female roles
Not being allowed to trust your feelings
Manipulation
Do any of these symptoms resonate for you? Do any of them live in a place you know?