We are approaching Valentine's Day, a time when we dip everything in chocolate and eat

at expense of restaurants.

But what if your love life is costing you more than a bouquet of roses?

What if you're in a coercive relationship that is diminishing your self-worth and distancing

you from your friends and family?

In the various relationship questions y'all have sent me lately, and watching Anakin

Drick's new film, April Darling, I took it as a sign.

In the next two episodes, we are going to talk about controlling relationships.

Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist, I'm your host Dr Monica Johnson.

Every week on this show, I'll help you face life challenges with evidence-based approaches,

a sympathetic ear and zero judgment.

In the film, Alice has to lie to her partner about a girl's weekend with her friends.

Why?

Because she is in a psychologically abusive, controlling relationship.

Many of you have contacted me with questions about your relationships as well.

I want to be clear that domestic violence or intimate partner violence is not always

physical.

We have a tendency to rank the types of abuse that happens to ourselves and others, and

if there isn't a physical or sexual aspect to the abuse, we can sometimes minimize the

impact.

It's critical that you understand that other types of abuse are just as harmful and can

lead to mental health outcomes like depression, suicidal ideation, and PTSD.

...