What's Love Got to Do With It?( Why Women Return to Abusive Relations...),Health

Why Women Return to Abusive Relationships

SEYMOUR, Tenn., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- When glamorous, high profile celebrities are abused by their significant others, many people wonder how that could possibly happen to someone who seems to have it all. The situation becomes even more puzzling when the victim chooses to go back to the abuser.

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"I know women who will endure physical abuse of all kinds because they feel they cannot leave the man that abuses them," said Jacqueline Dawes, founder and owner of Brookhaven Retreat. "For many, the physical pain can work as a mask for the emotional pain resulting from the abuse. Women come up with ingenious ways to justify the abusers' actions, and often begin to blame themselves."

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year 1,200 women die and 2 million are injured because of intimate partner violence. Tragically, many of these women will go without seeking help or treatment, often due to internalized guilt and depression.

Women frequently go back to their abuser because of fears stemming from the trauma. Women often feel that they are incapable of being alone, and fight to maintain the relationship even though it causes them pain. Women may be scared of further abuse resulting from trying to leave. Others may fear that they will lose their family or their welfare if the abuser is not in their life. Often times, these deep rooted fears are enough to allow the abuse to continue.

Brookhaven Retreat is a fully accredited and certified dual-diagnosis treatment center exclusively for women that is fully equipped to deal with the emotional breakage caused by abuse. Located in the mountains of Seymour, Tenn., the facility is specifically designed t
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