cycle of abuse
Repeating harm pattern
A cycle of abuse is the recurring pattern in abusive relationships where periods of tension, violence, and reconciliation repeat.
The abuser may apologize, promise change, or show affection after an incident, drawing the victim back before tensions build again.
Understanding this cycle helps explain why victims often stay or return: She recognized the cycle of abuse but still struggled to leave.
- love bombingManipulative excessive affection
- honeymoonNewlyweds' celebratory vacation
- explosionViolent burst of energy
- patternRecurring arrangement or template
- power and controlAuthority plus management capability
power · gaslighting · silent treatment · tension · walking on eggshells · behavior · control · red flags · trauma bond · hoovering · escalation · Stockholm syndrome · intergenerational trauma · learned helplessness · denial · intimidation · repetition · coercion
- cyclescircle of life, cycles, period, rhythms, oscillations
- domestic abusedomestic violence, battering, batterer, wife beating, intimate partner violence
- harmharming, injury, hurting, injuring, burn
cycle of abusesecure attachment
Reliable caregiver-child emotional bond
mutual respect · unconditional love · healthy boundaries · nurturing environment · loving home
cycle of abusehealing journey
Gradual return to wholeness
recovery · trauma recovery · breaking free · resilience · post-traumatic growth
abuse, cycle, bicycle, recycle, tricycle, motorcycle, cycling, recycling, bicycling