Abuse is driven by toxic shame and rage, and is engraved in the biology of the brain. It is also the offspring of childhood conditioning and can be a learned behaviour, underpinned by irrational thoughts, beliefs and values. Driven by these, abusers use power and control to humiliate the victims, trample on their boundaries, and exert control over them.

Among other aspects, this book will explore how the abuser tries to

• control the victim's time,
• their material resources;
• controlling by body language and gestures,
• by confusing the victim and
• defining their reality,
• by blaming, and
• by reducing the victim's status through demeaning behaviours, violence, sexual control, or perhaps financial manipulation.