About a year ago, I started seeing a very well-known athlete. Funny, invested and incredibly sweet, I was smitten. He took me on dates, introduced me to his friends, spent time with me and cherished who I was as a person. At that point in my life, it had been a while since I had found someone who made me happy, and I thought it was such a blessing that I had found someone in my life that made me feel the way I did around him.

I didn't realize that my "blessing" would take me to a low point in my own self-worth, joy and well-being.

It wasn't long before he stopped introducing me to his friends because I wasn't wearing much makeup, and I "wasn't pretty without makeup on." He stopped taking me on dates, promising to see me and responding hours later telling me he was with his friends. I would open up to him about important moments in my life, and he would respond by belittling those situations or telling me that I was "overreacting." Trying to make a joke, I would be answered with sarcastic laughter and questions asking if I was stupid and how I could've possibly gotten into the university, as though my 4.0 GPA couldn't have possibly qualified me. I needed to work out more and expect less of him, complain less and be more charming. And on the day my friend's heart decided it simply couldn't take all the drugs she had put into it, I was supposed to cry less and listen more to how bad his day was because he had a bad practice.

As a young woman, you're made familiar with the signs of physical and sexual abuse, not only to yourself but to others. No one ever told me how to look out for emotional abuse.

After leaving the relationship, I took some time to be with myself and to understand the depth of what I had just allowed myself to endure. What I realized was that his treatment of me didn't register in my head as abuse, despite the constant bullying, shaming, hurtful words and demeaning comments. And the more I thought about it, the more I asked myself:

How many other women are finding themselves in abusive relationships without even knowing it?

Emotional abuse is sneaky. It erodes at the spirit without hardly being seen, slowly tearing away at the seams until you find yourself swallowed in self-doubt, lack of worth and unhappiness in the shadow of someone else's controlling and dominating nature. Because I had never made myself aware with the signs of emotional abuse, I never knew I was in the middle of it until I found myself slipping back into the depression I had fought so hard to get out of, all the while being made to feel as though it was my fault.

Your significant other should never demean your self-worth. He should never humiliate you in front of others. He should never use ultimatums in order to get a response out of you or to force you to do something. He should never tear down your prior accomplishments or future dreams. He should never make you feel as though you are always wrong and he is always right. He should never refuse to take ownership for a wrongdoing. He should never make you doubt yourself. He should never diminish the worth of something that is important to you. He should never not acknowledge your feelings. He should never show you disrespect. He should never make you feel small. He should never make you feel unimportant or that you feel you need to walk on eggshells around him. He should never tell you that you aren't smart enough, that you aren't pretty enough, that you aren't kind enough, that you aren't enough.

No one deserves to know what abuse feels like.

No one deserves to feel stupid, to feel as though they aren't pretty unless they have a full-face of makeup and a tight dress on. No one deserves to feel worthless. And you may care about him very much, but there is someone out there who can't wait to cherish every little thing about you, flaws and all. Be just as aware of emotional abuse in a relationship as out of it, and just as aware of when it's time to walk away.