- Insults or belittles you or your ideas.
- Ignores you.
- Acts sulky or angry when you want to do something.
- Tells you who to be friends with.
- Tells you how to dress.
- Takes control of your money.
- Gets jealous for no reason.
- Tries to get you drunk or high.
- Is physically violent--even "just" pushing or grabbing.
- Is angry and threatening enough that you've changed your life to avoid making him angry.
- Thinks of you as inferior to him.
- You feel uncomfortable (trust your feelings!).
- He tries to stare you down.
- He touches you in an intimate place "by accident."
- He invades your personal space.
- He seems to enjoy making you feel uncomfortable.
- He doesn't listen to you when you say "No" or otherwise express discomfort.
- Violence and abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal (it's not just about being hit).
- Violence is not about love or caring.
- Violence is about one person trying to have control over another person.
Are you in a cycle?
If you can say "Yes" to any of these, then it's time to say "No!"
Be suspicious when seeing somebody new if:
Violence is never acceptable!
--From "Dating Violence: What It Is," Michigan Department of Community Health.
