Types of Abuse

Definitions Associated with Spiritual Abuse

Elitism

A common trait in spiritually abusive churches is elitism. If we are so special, and all others churches are inferior, who wants to attend an inferior church? Elitism is a manipulation tactic to keep people at the church. And it works powerfully because we become convinced that no other church will measure up.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A trauma trigger is an experience that triggers a traumatic memory in someone who has experienced trauma. A trigger is thus a troubling reminder of a traumatic event, although the trigger itself need not be frightening or traumatic.

Triggers can be quite diverse, appearing in the form of individual people, places, noises, images, smells, tastes, emotions, animals, films, scenes within films, dates of the year, tones of voice, body positions, bodily sensations, weather conditions, time factors, or combinations thereof. Triggers can be subtle and difficult to anticipate, and can sometimes exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition in which trauma survivors cannot control the recurrence of emotional or physical symptoms, or of repressed memory. A trauma trigger may also be referred to as a trauma stimulus or a trauma stressor. -wikipedia.org-