Paper_ziggurat, I get your concerns about children. When I say "Verbal abuse" I am referring to it in the context of matured adults, which sometimes can be hard to find due to the idiosyncratic nature how all of human are raised. We are often matured in one area like professional life or career, and significantly immature in another like sex and personal/relationship.
Sometimes truth said to us in those "armatured" area of our may occurs as Verbl abuse.
I think any one who has had a good acting course will know this.
The simple point may be best explain by this proverb:
"sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."
Oh and I don't read reddit.