From the darker side of life to the fun side...
Domestic violence was in the news yesterday as the government seeks to make domestic bullying also a crime. Couldn't agree more - a bullying partner is an emotionally abusive partner.
Later today my weekly iVillage UK Love Clinic goes live and I've answered a woman's dilemma about her husband becoming violent for the first time. If this is something you're facing please take a look and also get in touch with Refuge (help line 0808-2000-247).
At Christmas domestic violence escalates - it's a very sad fact that when you should be showing your partner lots of love some partners get abused. You don't have to suffer in silence!
Now for those of us who thankfully can go to Christmas parties - and not worry about a partner that drinks too much and gets abusive - I wonder if you’re reaching party-saturation point yet? I'm now out for the next four nights - I'll be on my knees by the time we're having friends over for dinner on Saturday - I've already told them not to expect anything but very casual cooking with a Christmas tree to provide the Christmas-y feel.
Loving the band called ‘Girls’ [the ones from San Francisco] - check out ‘Lust for Life’ for a California style tune - just be careful when you search for them you don't get a porn site with girls getting up to all sorts!
TODAY’S TIP: but back to the serious and darker side of life - today I want you to begin to recognize if you're being abused. Physical abuse often starts with emotional abuse - and the beginnings of that can sometimes be hard to identify. You want to give someone you're in love with the doubt and figure they're in particularly bad moods - maybe going through a bad time in their life- and you start walking on eggshells around them... a very bad sign indeed!
If you wouldn't treat a person that way then they're probably treating you badly.
Please do look after yourself and get in touch with the Refuge help line to discuss your situation. They're amazing and only want to give you some support.
Warm wishes, Pam x