How Do I Help My Abused Friend?

I have a friend who was in an emotionally abusive relationship for four years. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when their spouse physically assaulted them. They got a divorce, but this person was forever psychologically scarred.

Despite that abuse, four years later, feeling a profound sense of low esteem and longing for the days when their relationship was good again, they REMARRIED their abuser. Many of the abuser’s friends gaslit my friend and told them, “You were never really physically assaulted. You just misunderstood that.”

It’s been a sad and spirit-crushing experience watching my friend re-marry this POS. No one who knows both of them doubts the abuse will happen again—and most likely be worse.

What would you do in my situation? How should I respond to the people who gaslit my friend about the abuse? What advice should I give this friend?

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I can neither confirm nor deny this might be an allegory.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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