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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH has annoyed me - AIBU? (Warning: trivial)

55 replies

Silverthorns · 28/02/2012 10:00

I'm a bit stressed and fed up and am wondering if am just being irritable or have a genuine gripe - as I say in the title it's fairly trivial! If your DH read your FB over your shoulder, had a good rant about your use of the internet, talked over you and refused to listen to you, leaned over a table whilst you were having lunch with guests and wiped something off your apron whilst muttering about "if you won't do it I will", would you find this acceptable behaviour?

So as not to drip feed here's the back story - DH is getting on my wick at the moment; he has these moods every few months (always has had) where he just withdraws and virtually stops communicating for a week or so. I find it fairly annoying but am pretty much used to it now. During this time he gets really narky about me using FB/Twitter/MN, whereas I think that if he's not going to communicate with me I'll talk to other people that way. I work from home and we moved a year ago and don't really know many people so a lot of the time the internet is a lifeline for keeping in touch with people.

Anyway, yesterday we were out on the beach, the kids were happily playing and I quickly had a look at FB on my phone. DH comes up behind me and starts reading over my shoulder - which annoyed me in itself. Asked him what he was doing and he starts ranting about "what's so interesting on FB" and he "doesn't understand why people feel the need to go on FB/Twitter etc etc". I started to answer him and he just totally shouted me down and wouldn't listen. It started off being the reading over my shoulder thing but it escalated; he's currently in one of his not speaking modes and is acting a bit oddly. I just think it's a strange thing for him to suddenly do, but then to be so arrogant as to shout me down and not even let me talk really pissed me off. Last week we were having lunch with MIL and when I sat down I had a speck of food on my apron from cooking. He pointed it out and when I didn't instantly jump to remove it he leaned diagonally over the table and wipes it off muttering about how if I'm not going to do it he will. I'm aware typing this that it sounds ridiculous, but I wouldn't dream of leaning over and wiping his face/clothes while we were having lunch with guests, it struck me as a strange, patronising thing to do and made me feel like I was one of the children. Individually these are pretty insignificant things really, but I just feel at the moment like he's doing a lot of things that I think are quite rude/weird, but when I say so he tells me I'm being weird and oversensitive and there's nothing in any of it.

And now we're back to not communicating at all and I'm just pretty fed up about the whole bloody thing. AIBU? I'm aware it sounds a bit odd, maybe it's me being odd?

OP posts:
OTheHugeManatee · 05/03/2012 13:11

He might not have been ready to think about it at the end of last year. It's quite normal for people to self-refer a year or more after the bereavement. Also I don't know when your FIL died, but another thing to consider is that bereaved people often go through a very difficult time as the anniversary of the death approaches - this is a common time to self-refer for counselling.

Having had his mum to stay might have stirred things up for him too. Not to minimise how irritating she sounds to you (ie very), he may (for example) be feeling guilty about her being on her own now or all kinds of things.

It sounds like a rough time for you both and I hope you find a way through.

Silverthorns · 05/03/2012 13:54

Thank you. It has been 6 months now and we're getting to the point where there's some mini anniversaries (i.e. a year since his dad last came to stay, soon a year since he started to feel ill, etc.) and they do seem to be affecting him.

Do you think it's best to go direct to the NHS via GP or is it worth contacting Cruse? We can't really pay for counselling at the mo unfortunately.

OP posts:
OTheHugeManatee · 05/03/2012 14:31

I know my service has contracts with two local PCTs so your GP may well be able to suggest something similar. Alternatively contacting Cruse is definitely a good idea. It's worth just having a google around, too, as there are often smaller local charities that offer grief counselling.

It's tough being the partner in this situation, as grief can make the bereaved person very self-absorbed, which in turn leaves the partner feeling isolated and unsupported at the very time when their loved one is behaving unreasonably. You sound very supportive and loving though - I hope your DH manages to find (and is willing to accept) the help he needs to get through this.

EldritchCleavage · 06/03/2012 15:51

Hope you're feeling ok, OP.

Silverthorns · 06/03/2012 21:21

Hello- thank you both for the advice and checking in with me. I'm hopeful things will work out, will be interesting to see what happens when the drugs kick in with him, and we've got a child free weekend coming up hopefully we'll have chance to check in with each other. Just needs time I guess. Smile Thanks again. X

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