Tea Time! with Mandy

If you or anyone you know has ever had the misfortune of being in an abusive relationship, you know that the aftermath and lasting effects can be far different than anyone in that person's social sphere could have imagined. As a parent, you could have also been abused or demonized by the abuser, and be terribly confused and frightened when your child "mysteriously" decides to cut contact with you (under their abuser's instructions). As a friend, you might feel alienated, ignored, excluded or even unwanted and unloved by the person you once thought was your friend. But as the abuser, you experience not just the social effects and temperamental shifts from what your family and friends have been through, but the actual trauma and lasting stress that can stay with you and make a lasting impact on your life. I know this may sound strange, and somewhat far-fetched, but there seems to be a way that abusive relationships create this sort of a bondage-type setting. There