For my D1 task I have been asked to evaluate the long term effects of physical and emotion abuse on the individual experiencing it.

People often just assume that physical abuse is just physically hitting another person but it can also include forcing them to take too much medication that is not needed nor prescribed to them. An overdose of medication can be serious life threatening. An overdose can cause an individual problem with their vital signs i.e. temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. A persons vital sign values can be increased, decreased, or completely absent due to the overdose. Vomiting blood is a main sign that an overdose has taken place as it usually means that there is bleeding somewhere in your gullet, stomach or the first part of your bowel.

Disturbed sleep patterns can also be another effect on the body due to physical abuse. You may not be able to sleep as you think your attacker will come and attack you or be having nightmares of the abuse you are experiencing. Lack of sleep can affect the body by affecting your mental processes. Mood is diminished and you feel sluggish. Thinking is slower, it's harder to concentrate and there's a feeling of mental fogginess.

Memory problems are also a result from lack of sleep, not only with memory recall, but with storage. During sleep, memories are transferred to long-term storage. Sleep deprivation, which can also be caused by nightmares, can cause a lot of other medical conditions, including heart disease, depression, and obesity if it is continued over a long period of time.

Emotional or psychological abuse is any action which has an adverse effect on an individual's mental well-being, causes suffering and effects their quality of life and ability to function to their full potential. It often leads the individuals experiencing it to develop depression due to the constant put down of being told for example there not good enough, time the individual experiencing this will start to believe this and begin to question their abilities. Depression affects people in different ways and can cause a wide variety of symptoms. They range from lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety. There can be physical symptoms too such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite and complaining of various aches and pains. In the long term depression can lead to chronic fatigue which can cause the individual not to be able to carry out daily activities as they care constantly feel tired or worn out. A decreased appetite can lead them to develop mal nutrition deficiency such as anemia. Anemia is when your body lacks iron and can cause effects on the body such as a weakened immune system, problems in women with pregnancy and also lung and heart complications.

Depression may also lead the individual to turn to and abuse alcohol. They may feel like alcohol blocks out the abuse they are experiencing but in turn they are just causing damage to their body. Alcohol interferes with the brains communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination. The main effect of binge drinking is on the liver daily large consumptions of alcohol can cause cirrhosis. This is the scarring of the liver as a result of continuous, long-term liver damage mainly from binge drinking. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver and prevents the liver from working properly. The damage caused by cirrhosis is permanent and can't be reversed. Cirrhosis progresses slowly, over many years, gradually causing your liver to stop functioning. This is called liver failure. Every year, around 1,000 people in the UK die from cirrhosis. Around 700 people need to have a liver transplant to survive.

Suicide for many people who committee it is the easy way to get rid of their problem and life stresses by taking their own life. People who experience abuse may experience suicidal thought such as overdosing on medication or cutting themselves. The most obvious consequence of cutting yourself is bleeding to death. People may cut themselves to feel physical pain that will overshadow their emotional pain. However, there's always the risk of cutting an artery and unintentionally bleeding to death. Another serious consequence is scarring. Cutting yourself until you bleed leaves a scar behind. The more cuts you make, the more scars will cover your arms and legs. Even superficial cuts will leave scars. Cuts made repeatedly in the same place will leave bigger and do not fade away entirely. Some people self-harm themselves by overdosing. Some overdoses are worse than others. Many chemicals burn the esophagus and stomach. And since chemicals are processed through the liver, an overdose damages the liver, as well as other body parts.

All forms of abuse have long term and adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of the person experiencing it. This can range from mal nutrition to serious heart conditions that may lead the individual to death. Abuse is not a pleasant thing to experience and no person deserves to be treated in these ways. People who are in these situations should speak up and seek help as in today’s world there are a lot of organisations and services available to everyone dealing with these situations.