What Is Coercive Control? (And Why It’s Often Missed)
In this video, Dr. Christine Cocchiola breaks down what coercive control actually is—and why so many people don’t recognize it while they’re living it.
Coercive control is not always obvious.
It is not always physical.
But it is always about power and control.
✨ In this episode, Dr. Christine explores:
• What coercive control means
• Why abuse can be both covert and overt
• Dr. Evan Stark’s concept of a “liberty crime”
• How autonomy and agency are slowly taken away
• Gaslighting—and how we can begin to gaslight ourselves
• Trauma bonding and intermittent reinforcement
• Why it becomes difficult to trust your own reality
• The role of your body as an internal alarm system
• Why you may have “missed the signs”
• How coercive control underpins all forms of abuse
• Why abuse often escalates over time
Even those who study this…
Even therapists…
Can miss it when they are inside it.
That is not failure.
That is the nature of coercive control.
🩵 You are not alone.
🩵 You are not “too sensitive.”
🩵 Your body is communicating something important.
If something doesn’t feel right…
it likely isn’t.
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