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The Power and Control Wheel
The Power and Control Wheel, also known as the Duluth Model, was developed at the Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs in Duluth, MN. This tool was created in 1984 by working with focus groups of battered women. After all the stories were told and questions answered they grouped the most common behaviors and tactics used by […]
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This is Abuse?
I would have been the last person to claim to being a victim of abuse. When I shared some of the things I was experiencing in my marriage to co-workers, they never said the word abuse. They agreed I didn’t deserve what was happening, but I don’t remember anyone saying it was abuse. If they […]
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The Last Straw
Waking up on March 2nd, 2018, was like any other morning after a big fight with Paul. I felt exhausted. I was so tired of being told that he’s trying to be my friend and that I should try to be his. I was tired of him telling me I wasn’t allowed a divorce, and […]
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I’m Going on an Adventure
So how did I get started on this new journey in my life? I didn’t wake up one morning and just decide that I’m going to share my darkest, scariest and loneliest moments with the world. Who does that? I had been pretty vocal about sharing my trauma with my friends and family. It made […]
Comments Off on Why be Loud?
Why be Loud?
Since I started to research and listen to other’s stories of Domestic Abuse, one quote has really stuck with me the most, “Abuse thrives only in silence(TED, 2013, 14:59).” Leslie Morgan Steiner said this during her TEDx talk titled, “Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave.” This was one of the first TED talks I watched […]
Comments Off on Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time
I met, let’s call him “Paul,” in the Kansas City Airport. I was on my way to my very first duty station in the Army. I was fresh out of job training and nervous as hell. I enlisted straight out of high school. I had never lived on my own before, and though I was […]