Is Emotional Abuse Grounds for Divorce?

Emotional or verbal abuse can take a significant toll on you. According to an article by Verywell Mind, verbal abuse is the emotional harm people can experience during a verbal interaction. Common types of verbal abuse include:

• Insults: Directly attacking someone's character, intelligence, appearance, or any other aspect of their identity in a derogatory manner.
• Humiliation: Publicly or privately shaming someone, making them feel embarrassed or small.
• Ridicule: Mocking or belittling someone's thoughts, feelings, or actions to make them feel inadequate or inferior.
• Condescension: Speaking or behaving towards someone in a patronizing or superior manner, implying that they are inferior or incompetent.
• Degradation: Degrading someone's sense of self-worth or dignity through constant criticism, belittlement, or scorn.
• Threats: Using intimidation or coercion to instill fear in someone, often by threatening to harm them physically, emotionally, or socially.
• Gaslighting: Manipulating someone into doubting their own perceptions, memories, or sanity, often by denying or twisting the truth, making them question their reality.
• Withholding verbal affection or attention: Ignoring, stonewalling, or giving someone the silent treatment as a form of punishment or control, depriving them of emotional support or validation.
• Verbal attempts to isolate, scare, and/or control someone: Using language to isolate someone from their support network, instill fear, or exert control over their actions and decisions.

To end verbal abuse, many people decide to end the relationship. However, if you are considering a divorce because of emotional abuse, you can file for a fault-based divorce based on cruelty. Family Law courts take any instances of abuse very seriously, and fault-based divorces can have lasting impacts on the “guilty” party.

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Recognizing the signs of emotional abuse can be crucial for seeking help and taking steps toward healing. Here are some common signs that someone may be the victim of emotional abuse:

• Constant criticism: Feeling like nothing you do is ever good enough, and being subjected to relentless criticism from the abuser.
• Low self-esteem: Feeling worthless, inadequate, or undeserving of love and respect, often as a result of the abuser's constant demeaning behavior.
• Isolation: Being isolated from friends, family, or other support networks by the abuser, who may try to control who you can see or talk to.
• Gaslighting: Experiencing confusion or doubt about your own perceptions, memories, or sanity, as the abuser manipulates your reality and denies their abusive behavior.
• Feeling afraid or anxious around the abuser: Walking on eggshells, fearing their reactions, or feeling constantly anxious or on edge when in their presence.
• Withdrawing from activities or interests: Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy or withdrawing from social interactions due to the emotional toll of the abuse.
• Mood swings or emotional instability: Feeling emotionally drained, depressed, or experiencing sudden mood swings as a result of the ongoing abuse.
• Feeling trapped or helpless: Feeling unable to escape the abusive situation, whether due to financial dependence, fear of retaliation, or a belief that you deserve the abuse.
• Physical symptoms: Experiencing unexplained physical symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, or insomnia, which may be a manifestation of the stress and anxiety caused by the abuse.
• Lack of boundaries: Feeling like your boundaries are constantly violated by the abuser, who may disregard your wishes, feelings, or personal space.
• Feeling responsible for the abuser's behavior: Believing that you are to blame for the abuser's actions or that you deserve the abuse, which can perpetuate feelings of guilt and shame.
• Changes in behavior or personality: Noticing significant changes in your behavior, personality, or sense of self as a result of the emotional abuse, such as becoming more withdrawn, submissive, or defensive.

What Constitutes Cruelty in Divorce in Texas?

According to Texas Family Code Ann. § 6.002, you can get a divorce: if one spouse is guilty of cruel treatment towards the other, making a living together intolerable. Cruel treatment does not simply include physical abuse; it can consist of emotional abuse. However, emotional or verbal abuse can be hard to prove in court.

Proving Emotional Abuse in a Texas Divorce

As with any fault-based claim, there is a burden of proof. You and/or your lawyer must have evidence of the cruelty for the divorce petition to be granted. To prove emotional abuse, the evidence submitted might include the following:

• Audio or video recordings
• Documents
• Screenshots of texts or social media messages
• Witness testimonies

If you want to file no-fault (and avoid having to prove cruelty in court), you can also file on the grounds of in-supportability. An experienced attorney can advise you on the best progress in your case. When filing for divorce, you should immediately seek legal counsel.

If you are considering a divorce, you can trust the Law Offices of Mark M. Childress, PLLC, to support you. Verbal abuse can affect every area of your life, and we understand how hard it can be to decide to take steps to regain control and peace in your life.