Mental Health

If you’ve been arrested or charged with domestic battery, criminal threats, or other forms of domestic violence, the one thing that could make matters worse is not understanding how or why it happened. How, exactly, did you get here? Perhaps you have some anger issues, but you never expected an argument with your partner to escalate to an arrest. Or maybe you’ve been struggling with your mental health but never formally diagnosed with any condition. This begs the question: can an undiagnosed mental illness trigger domestic violence?

In short, yes, it’s possible for an undiagnosed mental illness to contribute to violent behavior in a relationship. Not all cases of domestic violence are as straightforward as they seem, and in some instances, undiagnosed mental illnesses play a significant role in provoking aggressive or violent behavior. While there is no direct causation between mental illness and domestic violence, certain conditions can increase the risk of aggressive or violent behavior. This is especially true for individuals with a history of anger management issues or difficulty controlling their emotions. Let’s explore this issue in a little more detail to provide more perspective.

The Prevalence of Undiagnosed Mental Illness

A domestic violence arrest can impact your life in many ways. It can jeopardize your job, traumatize your family, and separate you from the ones you love. But beyond triaging the immediate crisis of dealing with the court process, the underlying question is how to prevent domestic violence from repeating. The answer requires getting to the heart of how the abusive patterns began in the first place.

Domestic violence is a problem that affects people of all ages, genders, and social backgrounds. It takes place in rural, suburban, and urban areas and at all income levels. Several studies have been done to try and understand why abuse occurs, as this knowledge can be applied to better treatment strategies. Let’s explore the science behind abuse to better understand how these violent tendencies start—and more importantly, how to curb them. We’ll look at this issue from a total of four aspects: environmental, psychological, neurochemical, and genetic factors.

Environmental Factors Behind Abuse

Articles Posted in Mental Health

Can an Undiagnosed Mental Illness Trigger Domestic Violence?

The Science Behind Abuse—Part 1