From Victim to Survivor, I did it and you can too!

Domestic abuse, also known asspousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence.
Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over you. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or her thumb. Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you.
Please recognize the signs of abuse.

But, there is help and HOPE.
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at:
1-800-799-7233 or visit them online @ http://www.ndvh.org/
Safe Horizon http://www.safehorizion.org/
Love Is Not Abuse http://www.loveisnotabuse.org/
For local help in Asheville, NC visit, http://www.helpmateonline.org/ , they also have links to other agencies around the country.
For the legal help you'll need contact, http://www.womenslaw.org/
And when women say, "But, I'm staying for the children." Don't! The abuse you endure affects them too.

Again, if you are being abused please get help. Despite what many people believe, domestic violence and abuse is not due to the abuser’s loss of control over his or her behavior. In fact, abusive behavior and violence is a deliberate choice made by the abuser in order to control you.

If you are an abuser, you most definitely need to get help and there is help for you, too. Contact your local United Way 211, by dialing 211 from your landline, visiting http://211.org/ or dialing their national line from your mobile phone at 703.836.7112 and they well direct you to your local branch.