October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and local experts weigh in on giving a better understanding of what it is like to be in an abusive relationship. 

"Abuse comes in many different forms, it does not have to be physical or sexual to be considered abuse," Community Education Program Coordination at Mujeres Unidas Victoria De Los Santos said. "You know a lot of these victims go through mental and emotional verbal abuse."

Most times, victims are too traumatized to seek help or remove themselves from the relationship.

"The kind of things that they go through." De Los Santos said. "They can go through things such as strangulation, extreme beating, to always being humiliated and belittled. You know, you have these individuals that they're always being threatened because of their legal status or because they've never worked."

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, more than 12 million men and women are abused by their partner every day.

"Especially here in the valley, they always threaten to report them to immigration," Counselor at Harlingen Family Crisis Center Martha Sanchez said.

The Harlingen Family Crisis Center encourages victims to get help.

"I know that there's a lot of stigma attached to it, there might be a lot of shame attached to that," Sanchez said. "But there's nothing to be ashamed of. It can happen to anyone."

According to the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office, there were over 9,700 victims of family violence last year, not including those who haven't been reported.

"They can't do their makeup," De Los Santos said. "Another thing is, you'll ask them how they're doing, and they'll try to go around the question and try to change the conversation. The way that they're dressed, you know, you notice that it can be a very hot day, but they'll be wearing a long sleeve, sometimes you have plans with someone, and they end up canceling last minute, and it's because of how they look right, because of the abuse that they just experienced."

The signs are not always obvious to people in these types of situations. 

"It starts off very slowly, kind of like I don't like hanging out with your friends, let's just hang out with mine," Sanchez said. "Or you know what, I don't think your family likes me, so let's just hang out with my family. So you can't go out with your friends, you can't meet with your family members, and so that's the isolating part."

Blaming and belittling are also signs to be cautious of. 

"You did something wrong, you made me do this," Sanchez said. "If you hadn't done that, this wouldn't have happened. And so everything, they're never taking responsibility for any of their actions. They're always labeling the victim as a drama queen or someone that's exaggerating everything."

"Remember that if someone's canceling a plan, just take some time to ask is everything OK," De Los Santos said. "If you have a coworker that didn't show up to work, take some time to text them and ask is everything fine. Be that helping hand that someone may need."