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You don’t have to read this, I’m just in a bad place

User Profile: MissLady82
MissLady82 April 4th, 2024

I don’t know how to start this. My head is a mess. I’m so confused and I’m in the fog. I’ve been married for 14 years. The first seven years seemed idyllic. The relationship move quickly we bought a house within seven months, were married within a year, and we had her son within two years. We used to brag that our marriage was perfect, our friends were jealous. We had known each other as friends before we got together. He was always the shy one, the quiet one, the one who got friend zoned. I was the younger, pretty blonde. We were an odd couple. I was raised with a malignant, narcissistic father, and a covert, narcissistic mother. I thought by choosing him I was choosing the opposite of what I was raised with. I thought I was breaking the cycle . The generational trauma. And so it was for seven years. Then we lost the house, the SUV, the middle class perfect existence. I didn’t care about those things, I was never raised with material possessions. But he came from a nice middle-class family, and that was his dream. When we lost it all, he slowly started changing. Our three year-old found porn on his tablet. He knew how I felt about porn. I don’t care what other people feel about porn. Everybody has their preferences, but for me, it’s the equivalent of cheating, and he knew it going in. He promised never to do it again, and I believed him. Over the years, I would find it again and again . He knows how do use incognito mode, and the amount that I found was minimal. Just enough to let me know that he was doing it then he started stealing my pain medication. He’s an addict. I knew that going in. But he had been clean , for almost 10 years. But he stole my medication, and would convince me that I was using too much, or that I lost it. Then, he would watch me be in pain because I didn’t have it, all the while he was high from injecting it , I eventually found out, and he made all the promises to go to rehab. He even went to a private rehab that his mother paid for that cost over $30,000 for a month. At that point we have been together for about nine years. We’ve never been apart. He didn’t even like going to the grocery store without me. He had no friends. He said I was all needed. I was his wife, I was his mother, I was his friend, I was his therapist, I was everything. At this point, I realized he lied to me constantly. About everything. He would go to the store, but he would lie about which store he went to. I don’t know why, I don’t know why it would matter. But He would lie, and I couldn’t trust a thing he said. I think this is what broke me the most. I pride myself on telling the truth. I ask that he told me the truth, I can handle the truth, as long as you’re dealing with the truth you can fix a problem, as long as you’re dealing in reality, you can work on it. But if you’re dealing with lies, there’s no foundation to work on. Lying is such a fundamental betrayal, it goes to the heart of marriage. And once it starts happening, there’s really no going back from it. our arguments started to become predictable. He would turn everything around on me. If I was upset with him about something, somehow, it would end up with him being mad at me and apologizing to him. Whatever I have been upset about forgotten about. He would forget things. His answers were constantly I don’t know or I don’t remember. The gaslighting just got continually worse. He would try and tell me that my memory was false, even when I had hard proof that something was true. I could have a text message where he said something  and he would just deny saying it. If I confronted him with it, he would just say he didn’t remember saying it, and that I’m crazy. When he was away at rehab, I got a call from family services. It turns out that our son saw him doing drugs in the kitchen. Family services, then got involved and we’re monitoring us. I told him he had to come home that I couldn’t handle this on my own. He left rehab five days early. He’s been relapsing on and off for the last five years and he blames me for bringing him home early from rehab. Like those five days would’ve kept them clean forever . He blames me for everything. He shifts the blame for everything on me. All his emotions are my fault. If I didn’t get upset with him, he wouldn’t get angry. Etc. However throughout all of this, He’s always idealized me. He tells me I’m perfect. He never raises his voice at me. He rages, but he rages internally. He rages at himself. He’s always found ways to hurt himself. But he started cutting seriously. He uses it as a way to manipulate me. He’s admitted it to me and to the police when I’ve called them. There’s nothing the police can do because he doesn’t really want to kill himself. He’s cut himself in front of me for hours. I used to try and stop him, but there were a few instances where I got hurt, so I stopped. I also saw a video, where it says that if you give them the attention, that is what they’re looking for. So I ignore him. I don’t know what to do. I never know what the right thing to do is. Our son started acting out against us when he was five. He had rages. A crisis line told us to take him to a children’s hospital to have an assessed and get him services. He was taken by family services from the hospital and he’s been gone now for 2 1/2 years. I lost my son because of my husband. It gets very complicated after that. He triangulated me with his mother. A lot of things have happened in the last three years. Things I’d rather not talk about. The things I’ve said so far enough really. The things that have happened last three years are a lot worse. As it stands right now, I have gotten my husband out of the house . He is living in a room. I have blocked him on everything but email. I am struggling. I don’t know how to survive on my own. I was reliant on him. I have a lot of health issues and I’m struggling physically. I’m getting my son back June 28 . Family services has wanted to give him back to me for a long time but I wouldn’t leave my husband. I thought I was doing the right thing keeping my family together. My son loves his father. He wants us to be a family I didn’t want to break his heart . I didn’t realize what my husband was until a few months ago. Since then, I’ve been devouring videos and books and articles. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. Knowing what my parents were, I can’t believe I didn’t see it. But he was so insidious. He kept it hidden for so long . His mask didn’t come off until a few years ago. And it came off gradually. The cognitive dissonance is driving me mad. The trauma bond that’s been created through the intermittent reinforcement. He did so well I’m finding very difficult to break. I keep going back-and-forth between Knowing absolutely that I don’t want to be with him, that I can’t be with him, and needing him desperately. I’m trying to run a business, I’m trying to take care of a home on my own for the first time, I’m trying to be a single mother for the first time, I’m trying to be on my own for the first time, I have no friends because he made sure of that. It’s impossible to explain to people what happened, what he is, because it’s so subtle, So gradual. It happened over a long long time. And I defended him for a long time. So how do I now explain to people that I was abused, seriously seriously abused for so long? How do I explain to the people that I’m barely functioning? How do I explain any of it? I don’t know if I can handle this. I have no one to talk to. No one who understands. Thank you to whoever read this. I know it’s so long post. I know it’s a bit rambling. But if you read the whole thing, thank you. 

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User Profile: slowdecline48
slowdecline48 April 4th, 2024

Here's a rule of thumb: trust no one until given solid evidence that someone is worthy of it. Going by that rule, without exception, will save you a lot of trouble in life.

2 replies
User Profile: zeetee17
zeetee17 April 29th, 2024

no truer words have been spoken.

this is now how i live ky life after betryal trauma

User Profile: MissLady82
MissLady82 OP May 1st, 2024

Thank you for responding and for your support. I don’t know if I agree with you though. I think you should go in neutral with people. Don’t distrust them, but don’t trust them either. Let them prove themselves either way. I don’t think people should have to necessarily prove themselves, going in with a deficit, but don’t give them the benefit of the doubt either.

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User Profile: BlueEyedBaby01
BlueEyedBaby01 April 6th, 2024

I am so so very sorry that you were going through this and the pain that I know you're feeling. Your interactions with your husband sound very similar to my own. Mine moved out a month ago, I actually just posted my first post about it.


And so saying that I will fully admit that I am about to be entirely hypocritical and give you advice that I cannot seem to take myself. First I want to commend you on going supremely above and beyond what many women would do, sadly it isn't always a healthy thing, I do it too.


I also want to commend you on your insight. You sound to have a very good knowledge of narcissism, gaslighting and trauma bonds. I completely understand where you're coming from as far as admitting or telling people that you have been abused for years. I have so much shame surrounding the fact that I'm a therapist but have been in an emotionally abusive relationship for 22 years. I've made excuses, I've tried to fix him and I've justified that it didn't happen all the time and he was making progress so it was going to get better.


My husband also engaged in porn despite Knowing that it was extremely damaging to my self-esteem and my sex drive being higher than his so I was pretty much always available. Like yours he lied about so many silly things and I know that that erodes the trust so deeply. Personally I suspect mine will try to return and I am having to seriously weigh if I can try again given the hurt and loss of trust and I can imagine you've been in a similar place.


What I should do myself and what I want to tell you is that you're doing the absolute right thing by going no contact and by moving forward for yourself and your son. Until he works on himself and makes his own changes the patterns of behavior you're expressing are likely not going to change either. That being said you also have to work on yourself setting boundaries probably and your patterns of behavior. Just FYI there are online support groups for codependents anonymous, I went to my first meeting online today.


Overall please know you're not alone You're not the only one crying yourself to sleep and wondering what you did wrong. But the sun will come up tomorrow and you, I and many other women will continue to put one foot in front of the other. some days it will be more than hard but other days we will find joy. It may not help you but it helps me to try to remember that even though I'm hurting now and I'm not happy I wasn't happy when he was here either And at least there's probably an end to this pain.

You can handle it, It just won't feel like it most days and you will likely love the independence that you find yourself gaining I'm sure of it.


Your fears and your pain are completely valid And just like any other wound it will heal with time. I know I've not really said a lot to help but I do know sometimes it just helps knowing you're not alone and I promise you're not. You will definitely be in my thoughts ❤️

1 reply
User Profile: MissLady82
MissLady82 OP May 1st, 2024

Please know that what you said has helped enormously. I apologize for not responding sooner. As you probably know time is so malleable right now. It seems to pass so quickly at times and so slowly at others.


How are you doing? Is yours still moved out? I hope so.


I feel like we’re very similar. Like we both know a lot about what is going on. Like we know, intellectually, the processes, the cycles, the bonds and the psychology behind it all. But it’s the lived experience, the emotions behind it all, that we just can’t escape. One of my favourite quotes right now is:


” When the alarm bell of the emotional brain keeps signalling that you are in danger, no amount of insight will silence it”


please don’t beat yourself up over the fact that you are a therapist and in an emotionally abusive relationship. The two aren’t Mutually exclusive. You can have two competing truths at the same time. We have to learn to sit with them. “ I love him” And “ He abuses me” It would be the same with “ I am in an emotionally abusive relationship” And “ I am a therapist” Both can be true at the same time. If we can accept competing truth within ourselves, we can start to practice radical acceptance, which I find helps a lot in healing from what has happened to us.


Like you, I have a much higher sex drive, and he mirrored that during the idealization phase and our sex life was very good. So I missed that terribly. When he came over, he would use that. I allowed myself to get swept up in it, but it wasn’t the same. Once you’ve seen what they are, you can’t un see it. At least I can’t. As much as I wanted It to go back to what it was, it never can. I know it’s not real, I know he’s pretending, how can I be with him? Once you know, it’s fake, why would you want it? Maybe look at it that way. Maybe that can help.


I’ve been absolutely no contact with him now for four days. I know it doesn’t seem like much but it’s an eternity. I know he’ll never work on himself. If he was going to do it, he would’ve done it by now, but hope is the hardest thing to kill. I need to work on myself more. I’ve been working on myself now for three years. I’ve come along way to get to this point. I know I have a lot more work to do. I know my weaknesses. I know I have a lot of trauma from my childhood. I know my triggers. I’m working on it. Do you have any links to those codependent support groups? I find a lot of scams when I search. Maybe you have some legitimate ones. I’m glad you went to one. How’s that going? Have you been to more?


I was wondering if you would be comfortable chatting privately? I totally understand if you don’t. You don’t know me. If you do, let me know. I feel like I circumstances are similar, and we may be able to support each other. I have a lot more to say, but this post is already rambling and I’m sure everybody doesn’t want to hear everything I have to say!

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User Profile: Countrygirl095
Countrygirl095 April 12th, 2024

@MissLady82 I'm here for you if you need any support

User Profile: Yasashiku
Yasashiku April 29th, 2024

I listen to your rambling (rambling isnt always bad), and I feel you. I hope everything will turn out brigther in the future for you. One day at a time. You love your child very much, I can feel that. That is certainly one thing to hold on to in all this. Show your love to him ❤️


Thank you for sharing.

1 reply
User Profile: MissLady82
MissLady82 OP May 1st, 2024

Thank you for your support. I appreciate your responding. I appreciate you listening to my rambling! Thank you for recognizing my love for my son, I do love him very much.

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User Profile: IdealChaos
IdealChaos April 30th, 2024

@MissLady82 if you need to vent some more or just need a one on one convo, feel free to message (: