A Chronic Illness: No One Wants To Talk About

This is one of those chronic illnesses no one wants to talk about. This illness is a dirty little secret that affects men and women. It is often multi-generational. It is time for people speak up and discuss it. Women often are ravaged by this disease, as are some men. But when men contract the disease, it not uncommon for it to be passed on to their sons. Make sure you read those last two sentences very carefully. 


I have a powerful video for you to watch. I think it speaks for itself, even though the title is a bit strange, and the beginning of the the video is well...You'll see what I mean. Stick with it. You'll get the point.

Yes, according to the medical community, Domestic Violence, as a chronic illness. 1) Domestic violence is a type of repeated pattern of behaviors an abusive intimate partner uses to gain power and control over another. It occurs commonly in the form of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, is ongoing, and often escalates. Domestic violence occurs in familial and intimate relationships where people are living separately or in the same household, and between individuals in current or former relationships. It is perpetrated regardless of age, income, education, religion, sexual orientation, culture, and race (NCAD, 1999).


The most committed crime against women is between intimate partners, commonly known as domestic violence. In the United States, an act of domestic violence happens every 15 seconds (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence [NCAD], 1999). Women with disabilities experience abuse at twice the rate of women without disabilities. 


Lauren Luke is the woman in the video. Apparently, she is a bit of a celebrity (I never heard of her but then again,  but then I have problems with remembering things). She has this to say about this public service announcement: 


The bruising on my face for the video  wasn't real, but my emotions in that video were. I had a bad experience in the past with a previous boyfriend. He never physically hurt me but I did sometimes fear what would happen next if I said the wrong thing. He could be overprotective and embarrass me in   because of his aggressive behavior. Sometimes it was like living with a volcano which could erupt at any second—I felt I was walking on egg shells (FYI- Walking on Eggshells by Brian K Ogawa is a good book on Domestic Violence) just to keep him from exploding and smashing something across the room.


To open up and be honest about something like this makes us feel weak among our friends and family, but in actual fact there is nothing weak about it..... Back then I knew the whole situation wasn't normal, but I didn't know about the help that is out there. And that is help and support that it's time to stop covering it up.2



If you need help call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224. rather than contacting the National Domestic Violence via the  computer.  Computer use can be monitored and is impossible to completely clear. If you are afraid your internet and/or computer usage might be monitored, please use a safer computer. 

       






1 http://doctoraana.net/blogs/doctoraana-mag/domestic-violence-a-chronic-illness-rooted-in-the-latino-community
2http://jezebel.com/5923043/youtube-makeup-star-lauren-luke-covers-up-her-bruises-in-powerful-anti+domestic-abuse-psa

*The PSA was provided by Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-XHPHRlWZk