The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Abuse and Battery

I am not a physician. The information presented in this paper comes from my own experience and must be not used as a substitute for the advice of a qualified physician.

The theme of this essay is that abuse and battery can aggravate existing conditions and create new traumas.

The effects on those who witness abuse or violence can be devastating. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we saw the effects on the living victims, those who lost a family member or friend, and those who witnessed the attacks first-hand. Others whom the attacks did not threaten also exhibited physical and emotional effects.

Thousands in some parts of the world celebrated the destruction and human loss and I recall the outrage expressed by those who learned of their distant barbarity. Why do some express outrage by the acts of foreign terrorists and their supporters and then tolerate the acts of family terrorists and their supporters?

Chronic Stress is unending stress that is experienced day after day over many years. Male victims of spousal battery and abuse often suffer from chronic stress. A prejudiced legal system and society exacerbate the stress through their refusal to believe that men thus disparaging their plight.

Though a husband tries to escape intact from an abusive marriage, the courts assume the role of the willful, untruthful, evil, and violent spouse. These institutions, acting as her surrogate, strip the husband of his children, job, money, home, and possessions. He is left with debts, no credit, a false criminal record, and no way out of a wretched situation. It is this human malice that causes the most severe chronic stress that can kill through substance abuse, suicide, and the breakdown of physical and mental health.

The failure to recognize that an abused person may be suffering from ongoing chronic stress may lead health practitioners to prescribe medications and therapy that are ineffective and perhaps dangerous. Stress often causes surges of adrenalin that, over a long term, adversely affects the physical and mental assets of the patient causing permanent damage. This damage can mimic other disorders and, therefore, the effects of chronic stress can be difficult to assess and treat.

Notice to Practitioners: Ongoing abuse is detrimental to any probability of successful treatment. When a practitioner attempts to cure the patient by treating the symptoms and ignoring the cause, the probability of success becomes, over time, increasingly small and can exacerbate the patient's condition.

We should view abused men as torture victims especially when law enforcement and the courts had sided with narcissistic, abusive, misleading women. The sheer amount of disbelief that the targeted individual encounters when he (or she) relates their experiences can lead to additional effects and amplify existing symptoms. Torture often adversely affects several bio-neurological systems in the targeted individual.

**Victims of Abuse and Violence**
can be afraid to tell anyone	can be ashamed that they failed as a person	can be concerned about further abuse or violence	have developed skin lesions
can experience panic attacks or symptoms of PTSD	can become dispirited and frustrated	can feel guilt about leaving their partner	can believe that they have done something to deserve it
can feel that no one will believe them	can feel sadness or depression	can feel humiliation or anger	are worried about the children if they leave
are worried about their financial security	worry about their home and belongings	can not live at home in peace	often have meals away from home
endure anxiety	endure depression	have distrust of others	sense emptiness
can have flashbacks	can exhibit intensified vigilance	can exhibit increased irritability	can develop insomnia (sleeplessness)
feel listless	can have loss of appetite	can have loss of sexual desire	can have many medical complaints
can have memory problems	can have nightmares	can have precognition (the perception of an event before it occurs)	can have pseudo (ghost) pains
can feel a sense of helplessness	can exhibit social withdrawal	can exhibit shakes or tremors	can exhibit an inability to concentrate
can have diarrhea	can have nausea and vomiting	can have an amplified startle response	can have amplified senses
can have unexplained weight gain or loss	can experience recurrent headaches	can become substance dependent	can resent those who have harmed them (7)

Table Notes
1. These are symptoms of torture.
2. Many abusers batter their partner while they are sleeping or otherwise helpless.
3. Many abusers attempt to destroy their target's sense of self-worth.
4. Emotional attacks and attacks on others are just as destructive as physical personal attacks.
5. Substance abuse is not uncommon and should be viewed as a result of continued battery or abuse.
6. These are natural and common feelings and responses that people experience in violent or impossible relationships.
7. According to many Federally funded women's shelter advocates, a woman's aberrant behavior is always the man's fault. Keep in mind that the uncorroborated word of a female is sufficient information for arrest. If you decide to leave the scene of her abuse, you could be charged with fleeing the scene of a crime and if you took the children with you, you could be charged with parental kidnapping. Discuss these concerns with your attorney and ask that attorney to draw up papers that protects you from wrongful arrest.

Mutual sexual gratification through violence is not as uncommon as I believed. I did speak and wrote to several hundred women. Some volunteered that their parents were mutually violent (their mothers nearly always initiating the conflict) and then engaged in intense unseemly sexual intercourse. I spoke to several retired trusted police officials and they verified that these couples would often turn on them when they tried to intervene.

Although sexual assaults including groin attacks by women are common, I have not found studies that prove sexual gratification as the objective of female offenders. Self gratification comes from the accomplishment of control or domination over the targeted individual. When the target thwarts her purpose, the female abuser conjures a story and calls the police, seeks support groups, or meets with a judge. This is the way of an narcissistic woman derives pleasure from the torment that she inflicts on her target.

Defects in the heart's electrical system can cause cardiac arrhythmias, some are congenital and others are acquired. Wolff-Parkinson-White Disorder is now called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome because its symptoms varies from person to person. It is the 'chameleon' of heart defects and the symptoms range from an abnormally slow heart rate to an extremely high heart rate. An abnormally slow heart rate is less than 55 bpm and this condition is called bradycardia (my heart beat dropped below 30 bpm). Tachycardia is a heart rate that exceeds 100 bpm in a rested state (mine exceeded 275 bpm). Arrhythmias can be lethal. This why seeing a physician is so important, especially a patient cardiologist.

A change in diet or taking supplemental vitamins and minerals can control some arrhythmias. Others require medication. Beyond that, a cardiologist can perform a variety of procedures. In a pinch, a person might quell racing heart beats with these simple measures: Gulping iced carbonated water and belching, applying iced water to the face and chest, lying down on the left side and coughing. The object is to break the heart's pacing cycle. This is the best time to see a physician.

I was born with an arrhythmia. Abuse aggravates this condition through the heightened production of adrenalin. Imagine how it feels to be at the edge of unconsciousness, your heart is racing at more than 250 beats per minute and your spouse is pummeling and trying to kill you while her sons are stealing what you have earned.

The Panic Response Paradox is a collection of symptoms that are found in other disorders. These symptoms include: rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, nausea, trembling, dizziness, sweating, faintness, diarrhea, tunnel vision, the sense that the earth is moving under their feet, and fear of dying. Other symptoms include a sense of time dilation where people and objects appear to be moving slower but hearing is not affected.

Those who are affected with this set of symptoms may develop phobias, compulsions and obsessions. Many are concerned that an attack might occur in a public place such as a grocery store. Others feel vulnerable around people. Some perform a 'ritual' each day to ensure their well-being and this may indicate an obsessive-compulsive condition.

People who are experiencing these symptoms may be: unable to drive a car, work with machinery, or function normally. The symptoms of panic attacks are also symptoms of other serious medical conditions. That is why the sufferer should consult a physician.

Some patients may have a predisposition to panic attacks and no one knows exactly why. Research has shown that chemical changes in the body contribute to onset of panic attacks. When a physician injects a patient with lactic acid (found in some foods and is a product of fatigue) and it precipitates a panic attack, that person may have panic disorder. This effect has led to some success in treating the disorder through dietary changes and other methods.

The acquisition of panic disorder seems to be unrelated to whether a person has or does not have a history of psychological trauma. However, some of the symptoms of panic disorder are similar to those of other disorders and the connection, if any, has yet to become known. This why I refer to the phenomena as the Panic Response Paradox.

Notice to Practitioners: There is a phenomena that I call the life jacket effect. While many panic attacks occur without warning, some sufferers apparently can sense the incipient signs long before the manifestation of physical discomfort. It is this vulnerability that can provoke a full blown panic attack. However, the possession of single one dose of a fast acting substance such as 0.5 milligrams of lorazepam, taken by mouth under the tongue, can help victims quell the onset of panic attacks without using the medication. That is why I call this phenomena the life jacket effect.

Every person responds differently to medications and I know this from personal experience. The goal of competent practitioners is to restore independence to the afflicted but that might not be possible for those who have from suffered from chronic anxiety or long term abuse.

Psoriasis is a skin disorder that causes red scaly skin lesions and cracking of the skin. These lesions can lead to severe itching, pain, and scales are always falling off the skin. Treatment usually involves moisturizers, salicylic acid, coal tar, sun light, and corticosteroids. Experts currently believe that psoriasis is a result of a disorder of the immune system. Since mental and emotional stress affects the immune system, the onset, recurrence, and worsening of psoriasis can be stress related with some people. Reducing stress may help resolve this condition.

A medicine in the class called beta-adrenergic blocking agents can induce psoriasis. I stopped taking this medicine and the results are remarkable. This is not a recommendation. It is only an advisory. Every person is different in their reaction to medicines. When I stopped taking this medicine, it worked. Psoriasis seceded to some extent.

Polycythemia Vera is a rare disorder of the bone marrow that causes an excessive production of blood cells and platelets. Living at high altitude, breathing problems, stress, dehydration, and the abuse of erythropoietin can cause other forms of polycythemia. The viscosity of the blood may become so high that it cannot flow through small blood vessels and capillaries. The individual may appear discolored, confused, and wobbly. Increased blood viscosity and platelet count boosts the potential for clot formation leading to organ and tissue damage, stroke, or heart attack. The usual treatment is removing 1 pint of blood until the hematocrit is less than forty-five. Sometimes this procedure results in hemorrhage but some people may confuse it with spousal abuse. Click here for a picture of my arm taken in July 2000 after phlebotomy.

Marital Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Those individuals who have had a past traumatic experience or are experiencing long term trauma may develop an anxiety disorder known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While there are some predisposing factors that may make an individual more vulnerable to PTSD, the risk for PTSD as a result of spousal or partner abuse increases when the abuse:

Furthermore, the lack of support from the community and government can increase the risk for PTSD or aggravate its symptoms and delay recovery when:

The symptoms of PTSD are shown in the preceding table entitled "Victims of Abuse and Violence Abuse".

The Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological condition where a person taken hostage becomes emotionally involved with the captors. Social scientists and other researchers discovered that this co-dependency can exist in other oppressive relationships such as spousal abuse. At some point, the victim becomes emotionally dependent upon the abuser and cannot see their self as an autonomous individual. Some victims leave an abusive relationship only to return because they cannot emotionally function without the abuser. This effect can be so enduring that some victims may become abusive and violent.

Projection (Psychological) - Projection is the attribution of one’s own feelings of blame or guilt to another. If your spouse falsely accuses you of adultery, then she or he could be having an extramarital affair. That is, in marital unions, projection can be a ruse to hide one’s own act of dishonesty, adultery, or incest.