I studied abuse in grad school. The sad truth is that a lot of behaviors that qualify as abusive are generally chalked up to standard-issue "drama" or "dysfunction" by people who don't realize how broad the umbrella of abuse actually is. Ghosting someone = ignoring them. Within a relationship, ignoring someone IS definitely emotionally abusive. I'm on the fence about whether one can technically be "abusing" someone with whom they are not in a relationship and not even trying to connect with in any form. But the fact remains that, within a relationship, ghosting is abusive precisely because of the deleterious impact it has on the emotional health of the ghostee.

I suspect that most abuse comes from unhealed mental/emotional health issues and that, as a result of this, people who engage in such behaviors can change. I truly wish that the public conversation about abuse were larger, because I think there are a lot of fundamentally good human beings out there who need that kind of wakeup call — who need to realize, "Oh, hey, my behavior is abusive! I should work on myself!" — but I don't know how we will arrive at that point or ensure adequate emotional support resources (e.g., therapists) to turn the tides, when mental healthcare availability and access are already so limited.

Thanks for the thought-provoking read, and I wish you healthy love partnerships!