My boyfriend is always criticizing me and putting me down. I always just thought he was right but I’m beginning to wonder. Can this kind of thing be abuse?

Absolutely. Putting someone down is a kind of emotional abuse. The abuser will often find ways to rationalize his or her behavior, but deliberately trying to make someone feel bad is not OK. We all get angry and upset with one another. We all have bad days at the office. But those are not excuses for deliberately hurting another human being — even verbally.