There are different types of abuse that is categorized as “domestic violence”. Some people who engage in behaviors that cause injury to others use physical violence and others use mentally abusive methods against their victims. You will find cases of people who abuse only one person in their life and cases where people abuse anyone they think they can. The psychology of an abusive person and why they hurt others is not different between the different types of abusive individuals.
The psychology of an abusive person is far different than that of the psychology of most average people. Most individuals feel sadness or remorse when they see someone else in pain. Most of the individuals that inflict pain on others through physical or mental methods do not have the capacity to empathize with others. These people are deemed to be psychopaths by the mental health professionals.
Common Traits of a Psychopath
• A psychopath does not feel sad when they see someone crying.
• They do not feel remorse for hurting another individual.
• They only think about their own feelings and how things affect them.
• They are generally cruel to people who are weaker than them
• Often they are cruel to animals
• They do not fear the consequences of their actions against others
• They often feel pleasure from their cruel actions. Much of the time a psychopath will feel sexual release from tormenting someone else. This is usually linked to traumatic events they witnessed, or suffered through, when they were children.
Are all Abusive People Psychopaths?
While a large portion of abusers are psychopathic, not all people with the psychology of an abusive person are one. Some people have merely decided that they have to be on the offensive to stop others from taking advantage of them. This “dog eats dog” mentality leads them to be aggressive towards others. They are especially aggressive to people they care about, because, people they care about have a better chance of hurting the abuser than a stranger does.
Some people have never been taught to empathize with others. When children are not taught to empathize with others they often becomes self-centered and cruel to other people. Empathy is not something that we are born able to exhibit. As parents we must teach our children to feel compassion for those less fortunate or for people who are suffering.
Some people are not taught as children to be respectful of other people. Respecting other people, their property, and their feelings, is something that a child learns from their parents as they are growing up. If a child does not see their parents being respectful to others they will likely not be respectful either. Parents must also make a child treat them, their teachers, their friends, and all other people they come in contact with, respectfully.
Sometimes children that grow up in a home where one person abuses other members of the family become abusive when they are adults. We tend to imitate the behaviors we witnessed when we were children growing up. If a child witnessed one parent being abused by the other they are likely to think that type of behavior is acceptable when they become an adult. If the child is abused when they are small they may grow up and continue the cycle of abuse, even if they really do not want to do this. They may abuse their children and then feel immense remorse for their actions.
The psychology of an abusive person and why they hurt others has been the focus of many mental health professionals. Discovering the psychology of an abusive person and why they hurt others can often help doctors to stop the events from occurring.