Verbal abusive is something that's been talked about more and more in the last few years. But what does it mean for friendships? It's a tricky definition, because as you know sometimes friends can have an argument and even say mean, hurtful things. But that isn't necessarily verbal abuse.
Even if a friend is self-centered or neglectful, it doesn't mean their behavior falls under the category of verbal abuse. You can even have a toxic friend that isn't verbally abusive. (Although none of that means you need to put up with bad behavior.) To clarify the term, here's some info on what verbal abuse is and how it applies to friendship.
If you've experienced verbal abuse in your friendship(s), consider sharing your story about how you knew it was verbal abuse and what you did in our reader submission area. Sharing your story may help someone else.