Expert: james52144@earthlink.net - 7/31/2007

Question
My friendis involved with a guy and to me he seems to be verbally abusive. One minute he is worshipping the ground she walks on. The next, he is belittling her. He has had some traumatic things happen to him in his early childhood and he was also verbally abused as well. Could this be a clue if it is going to get worse?

Answer
Dear Alysha

It sounds to me more like he is more insecure than abusive. Almost like he is daring her to leave. How he internalized his childhood is hard to predict. It sounds like your friend needs to set up some healthy boundaries about how he treats her. If he belittles her, au revoir!