Johnny Depp and Reactive Abuse- He is the Victim!
First, I want to state that everything that I have seen, read, listened to in regards to his case. It shows that he is the victim in this. I will gladly eat my words, if something proves me wrong, but I genuinely do not think I will have too.
Johnny Depp is one of the 1 in 9 men who are victims of domestic violence!
As you know by now, my life is devoted to fixing our system and putting true victims first. From changing laws, education, prevention, awareness and so much more! I am doing this for my sister who was murdered. I was almost killed in mine. I am doing this for my siblings and daughter- in case they are in a domestic violence situation they stay protected.
But the therapist failed Mr. Depp something fierce with the testimony they gave. The key element that needed to be discussed was the fact that Mr. Depp was acting in 'Reactive Abuse.'
So what is Reactive Abuse?
When you are in an abusive relationship, it is common for the victim to lash out. You have to understand, when you are constantly attacked, day in and day out for extended periods of time- it wears a person down. You are never safe, you are walking on eggshells because you have no idea when the next explosion will happen. There is no 'might happen'- IT WILL HAPPEN! But imagine living like that, being hit constantly, having objects thrown at you, things broken- you will see the victim bite back. From leaving, yelling back, crying, spit hateful insults, and even go into self defense and push back physically.
In 99% of the cases the abuser will cry wolf and push blame on the victim. Most cases, we see this in male victims with the woman being the abuser.
Abusers thrive and feed off reactive abuse, because they can spin it to make the victim look unstable, delusional, suffering from some type of mental illness and even claim its a substance abuse issue. The abusers go as far as making official reports (police), as a form of manipulation- to make their victim feel a sense of guilt.
It is all tactical- it forces the victim to believe it is their fault and it is them who needs to do better. This allows the abuser to continue on without and consequences to their actions.
If you are thinking: Why did they not just leave? Let me remind you why they could NOT.
https://www.putmefirst.org/post/the-science-behind-why-we-go-back
We can unfortunately see this with Mr. Depp's case. He was the victim the entire time, he put up with a lot and everyone has their breaking point. When your life is in danger, you may have to physically push back to get out of the situation. That means you will have to place hands on your abuser. I had to with mine, and thankfully I am here to speak about it. None of his previous partners experienced physical abuse from him- that is even more evidence that he acted in reactive abuse! He had no choice!
If you were in an abusive relationship, and you took a stand and fought back!
I am proud of you- you saved yourself.
Do not feel guilty for doing so, I have heard many people say they experienced it after. Please do not!
Men can be abused.
1 in 9 men will experience it.
XO Stephanie
