healing

Reading Stalking the Soul, a book about the more subtle (? not sure I agree) forms of emotional abuse (still battling the cultural Sticks and stones mindset - as far as I'm concerned, verbal abuse may be more destructive because it's more subtle and harder to name, label, call out, combat.)

From the last chapter, section on The Healing Process (emphasis mine):

As we have seen, emotional abuse settles in so insidiously that it is often difficult to recognize and, in turn, to defend oneself against. Taking charge can rarely be accomplished alone. When one is confronted by a clearly aggressive attack, psychotherapeutic help is often necessary. One can say that a psychological attack has taken place when the dignity of an individual has been harmed by the conduct of another individual. The victims' mistake lies in not demanding respect and in not realizing soon enough that the limits and boundaries of their integrity have been crossed. Instead, they absorbed the assaults on their identity like sponges. They must define what is acceptable to them and, in so doing, define themselves.