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bbthx
1 423 M Embraced 3
PathStep 32 Compassion hearts57 Forum posts9 Forum upvotes38 Current upvotes38 Age GroupAdult Last activeJuly, 2026 Member sinceJanuary 26, 2026
Bio

I’m here to further support my recovery and growth. I am getting professional help and have an amazing support network. But my support network can’t be with me at six in the morning when I’m freaking out. I thought being part of a community where people have shared experiences would be helpful. Hi!

I’m going through extreme betrayal trauma. My spouse has apparently been living a double life for our entire marriage. And instead of working on fixing the problems, they doubled down, increasing their lying, control, and abusive measures. It’s been destabilizing and difficult to cope.

When I feel normal, I like to read, and I like to run and I like to spend time quietly. I also like grade one on one time with close friends. I love my dogs. I’m constantly grateful and extremely fortunate.

Recent forum posts
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Discovering compartmentalization
35 & Over Community / by bbthx
Last post
May 24th
...See more Hi everyone. I’m new here. I joined this morning in between my third and fourth panic attack of the day. My issues are caused by an extreme fallout with a Spouse Who admitted a few months ago to having a gambling addiction. I wish the gambling addiction was the only thing that mattered. Instead of what were two people trying to right the ship and seek help, this turned into more discovery and deep, emotional trauma. I uncovered patterns that had been in place for years. Cheating, lying, financial infidelity and more was unearthed. This as I tried to organize counseling and a special workshop weekend to figure out how to support my spouse in getting out of an extreme amount of debt. Since we’ve separated I’ve worked with my therapist to discover that this type of behavior stems from extreme compartmentalization of one’s self. That these behaviors are typically attributed to long-standing traumas that have never been integrated into a person’s psyche. What I thought was a marriage built on honesty and respect where I cared for and nurtured his trauma (In a loving and compassionate way) —Turned out to be a game. And one of us was playing by a very Dysfunctional set of rules. So now that I’m safe and done doing the emergency response scenarios, my ruminating reached a crescendo this morning. Because my brain is now focused on betrayal. I’m trying to stop reliving every text message, every email, every receipt, every picture I found on his computer and phone. So my trauma is fresh, lol. Like picked at its peak here, people! And I wanted to join this community to safely share but also look at your stories, reflect, and support all of you. I have a fabulous support network and I’m extremely fortunate. But what I don’t have are people with shared experiences. Is there anyone reading this who dealt with compartmentalization on a very dangerous scale?
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