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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Is it possible to 'manage' a controlling husband?

116 replies

NotANaturalGeordie · 20/03/2012 22:00

A little history - DH was emotionally neglected by his mother and regularly beaten/humiliated by his (now dead) step-father. We have had no contact with his mother for about 5 years. We have been together 15 yrs, married for 10 and have two DD, ages 7 and 2.

DH has control issues. For example, I pre plan dinners for budget reasons, and when I swapped the meals around for convenience sake he lost his temper, we had a huge row and he wouldn't let it drop until I was in tears. This sort of thing didn't use to happen but DD1 is now at the age he was when his mother married his step-dad. He will deliberately pick a fight and brow beat me until I cry, then he can 'forgive' me. He usually apologises and accepts responsibility for the arguments at a later point, maybe an hour or two later.

I love him, he loves me. I am not considering leaving him, but I would like advice on coping with his behaviour. I do not want to cry any more but neither can I go on like this. He refuses point blank to consider counselling.

Any advice? Any one living with someone like this and how do you manage?

OP posts:
NotANaturalGeordie · 28/03/2012 19:58

Hi fiventhree

So sorry things didn't work out for you. I am hopeful about my situation, but have also set a (6 month) time limit for things to improve.

I agree that it won't be easy for him, but I do believe that he has had a 'wake up' call and at the moment is serious about change.

fingers crossed!

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PooPooInMyToes · 28/03/2012 21:02

I can imagine how he is learnt this behaviour from his childhood, does he realise this too?

Even realising it doesn't make it magically disappear. I strongly recommend counselling! I am glad things have been better but i doubt it will be suddenly perfect. I think a big change like that needs to be worked on and frankly think he's a dick for refusing to go to counselling.

The problem is that the longer it goes on the more of the behaviour is passed down to your children and the cycle continues.

cestlavielife · 29/03/2012 11:09

so now he open to change you and he should both go to separate counselling . him to process his anger at his mother etc.

you to keep your spirits up /keep up what you doing... - some CBT type work can be good for this. or go to a positive parenting course but apply same principles to your h ....

i suspect you might find he starts to rebel against your new found strength shortly.

but you are right to change your responses and your behaviour . no crying or begging or pleading with him just count to ten and give a sensible logical response to his ranting.

NotANaturalGeordie · 29/03/2012 11:20

Thx for the continued support. Had another 'moment' last night, which passed with grumbling but no arguing.

It's been nearly two weeks since our last BIG set to, I feel so much happier (and I think he is too). I will watch closely for any backsliding!

(I have often thought he would benefit from counselling. He spent much of his childhood with a friend who had leukemia and so saw a relatively normal family dynamic there. His BF couldn't go out and DH couldn't go home. But, DH says his life has made him who he is, warts and all...)

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Abitwobblynow · 29/03/2012 11:21

Geordie what you say about H starting at a certain time really rings a bell: my H went nuts including an affair at exactly the time his son reached the age he did when [a lot of trauma happened to him]. Sadly he is not prepared to look at it.

Geordie you could provide leadership for this. Apparently the biggest thing that cuts through a partner's denial (that everything is all right) is when YOU go to counselling whether he will or not. This signals your unhappiness better than anything, apparently.

Please, do it now when your love is so strong. Not down the road when it has been eroded. That is the mistake I made. I tolerated his behaviour and ignored how bad and lonely it made me feel, until an affair which was too hurtful to ignore.

But my IC pointed out that the affair was part of a PATTERN that had existed before, it was the final disrespect.

What a mistake, not to go to IC when I loved dearly and was still hopeful and sure we could fix things.

NotANaturalGeordie · 29/03/2012 11:26

Abit Thank you for posting. I have considered going for counselling on my own. Since we moved house I have suffered from low mood and exhaustion, and although I cut my hours we can't afford this and I have had to increase them again, so I'm not sure where I could fit it in. I certainly couldn't afford it - on paper we have a good income but in real life its a bit hand to mouth at the moment.

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PooPooInMyToes · 29/03/2012 11:35

A friend of mine ended her marriage at exactly the same age her mother ended HER marriage. Or rather the same age the children were. It was pointed out to my friend by a professional but she wasn't interested in exploring the connection. Some time later she realised what a mistake it was but it was too late, her husband had moved on.

ionysis · 29/03/2012 11:46

Hi there, thought I'd chip in because my husband's background and some of our relationship dynamics are very similar to yours. Just for some background, my H too was physically violently abused by his step father from when he was a child (as were his mother and siblings). He also has OCD and is anxious much of the time.

My H doesn't have "control issues" as such but he gets wound up about things due to his OCD. His anxiety is triggered by mess, clutter, dust and pet hair especially, he finds it really really hard to cope with these things and sometimes I can visibly see him trying to stop himself from boiling over. When he goes off he will shout and crash around but not usually AT me if you see what I mean, but it can still be very frightening and his behaviour has been verging on abusive at times (almost always when alcohol has been involved).

In my house growing up we never had shouting. In his house they had shouting, screaming, fists flying, things being smashed and the police called on a regular basis. To him losing your temper was considered, as you say, no issue at all compared to his childhood - he is also ex military (Navy) and so even in his job shouting was normal. I work in an office. if I raised my voice to a colleague I would be fired. For me it is extremely traumatic and can reduce me to tears because I'm not used to shouted arguments in any circumstances.

In the beginning of our relationship his anger management was extremely poor. He was jealous, lacked self-esteem, felt "not good enough" and was generally a total nightmare with his temper - to the point of shoving / threatening behaviour though he has never actually hurt me. Over the years though he has educated himself on his OCD and learned to recognise "intrusive" thoughts and obessions as part of his condition and manage them as such. He has taken medication for his anxiety for years which helped him keep it under control. He has recently come off this because he has learned other techniques for managing his frustration and his emotions.

He has worked on improving his communications and recognising things which will set him off. I have become gradually tougher and tougher with him on incidences of temper and have been absolute zero tolerance with raised voices in the presence of the children (both babies right now). Incidents of temper are now very rare. But the thing is he has WORKED on all this. And worked hard. He has had therapy to discuss his abusive childhood, he has talked things through with me forwards backwards and sideways, basically anything he can do to help himself he has done.

On my side I have learned to spot his triggers and try to calm him with a stroke on the arm, a kiss etc. to "gentle" him when I can see his anxiety kicking in (the house is a mess, the dog has jumped on him, the baby is crying etc.). I can also see when he needs space. If he is looking wild around the eyes I take myself off for a bath or take the children to play in the playroom and let him watch TV and have a cup of tea to wind down. On the rare occasions when he still loses his temper I leave the room and do not engage with him in any way. It used to take a day or more for him to come round and apologise and admit he was at fault - largely due to the self-loathing and guilt he felt - he would punish himself (and me as a consequence sadly!) by withdrawing. Now it's usually minutes.

Like your husband he is absolutely amazing in many respects, he is a stay at home dad, is incredibly giving, loving, unselfish in bed, does almost all the housework, washing, ironing, plays with the kids for hours at a time, never forgets a birthday or anniversary, would go out of his way to help a friend, listens, is supportive, has a great sense of humour and otherwise adds such a huge amount positively to my and the children's lives. His temper / loss of control / anxiety issues are without doubt a big negative, but I work with it, manage it as best I can and most importantly he does all he can to manage it himself. My marriage works for me, that's all I can say really.

ionysis · 29/03/2012 11:50

I don't know about you but I find any kind of "drama" inflames the situation. if I act completely calm, normal and speak to him kindly and pragmatically rather than act scared or upset he tends to calm down and not go off the deep end. If I cry or get upset he gets worse (because I'm making him feel guilty - reminding him he is baaving like his stepfather used to - which kicks off the self-hatred which makes his outburtsts worse).

NotANaturalGeordie · 29/03/2012 11:56

ionysis I am in tears reading your posts - I recognise so much of DH and me in what you say. In my family we didn't shout or have dramas at all, and as you say only losing your temper is no big thing to him. Also DH is ex army....

It is a relief to hear that a relationship can work out, with effort and commitment. So many posters here have said to leave him that I wondered if I was right to stay and keep trying, at least for now.

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PooPooInMyToes · 29/03/2012 11:56

Is there a specific type of counselor that helps with these issues? . . . Childhood experiences affecting your own family life as an adult or perhaps the way you react to your children?

NotANaturalGeordie · 29/03/2012 12:06

I have no idea poopoo I think I need to look into it a bit more.

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ionysis · 29/03/2012 12:08

This may sound odd to many but DH and I sometimes communicate by email / SMS or IM after one of his temper tantrums. I feel I need to vent at him for his actions but don't want to set off another face to face row. So I have my say over email, get angry and vitriolic and say things I would never say to his face for fear of him going ballistic. He replies, we "row" back and forwards that way and then I wind up by saying "please don't still be angry when I come home. I love you.". And by the time I get back we have got it out of our systems, hashed it through without raised voices and "make up" with kisses when we see each other.

This technique has enabled us both to say things bluntly and honestly which we wouldn't have been able to say to each other in person without screaming rage (on his part) and hysterical sobbing (on mine) and which needed to be vented so they didnt fester.

Other people have said "oh that is dysfunctional, you need to be able to communicate face to face" but it really works for us. My husband is extremely eloquent in writing (and did a lot of writing as part of his therapy - keeping a diary or writing down his feelings when he got mad). I am an english grad too so we can be lucid and communicate brilliantly through that medium. As he was deployed much of the time he learned how to write letters / emails very well, expressing things he couldn't necessarily say out loud. A lot of our "courtship" was done in writing.

NotANaturalGeordie · 29/03/2012 12:12

Ooh I wish we could be RL friends! Txting has been a life saver for us at times and I appreciate the space that it gives you to compose a reply. If I had the courage I would show him this thread but I don't think he'd like it much Smile

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PooPooInMyToes · 29/03/2012 12:21

Me and my husband do that sometimes too. I find that way neither of us says things we don't mean in the heat of the moment. Especially if it involves my in laws as he tends to have knee jerk reactions seeing as they brought him up to have the self esteem of a pebble!

ionysis · 29/03/2012 12:30

That would be nice - but I live in the Middle East these days sadly which is a long way to go for coffee! Feel free to PM me whenever you like though.

I have previously sent my husband links to DV sites and articles on grown up children from violent families and the effect on children of witnessing verbal abuse. He didn't like it much but he DID read them and it put his behaviour into persepctive.

I certainly didn't let him "get away" with thinking his behaviour was acceptable. But I also didn't want to cut off my nose to spite my face by being constantly punishing him for getting angry and living in a miserable environment. Appeasement can be seen as enabling but I DO think that you can "manage" these kind of situations by your responses - or at least minimise their effects.

Of course if he isn't prepared to work at it too then its not going to pan out well in the end. Like anything in a marriage it takes input from both of you to make things as good as they can be.

My husband is REALLY struggling with the dog right now. He hates the dog, the hair everywhere, the incessant pestering to go out, get walked etc. It was a big mistake introducing that stressor into the household but we didn't realise how tough he would find it. But we have tried to find a good home for poor old Alf without success. Its such a shame because I adore the dog as do the kids.

He also struggles when the baby cries a lot - he feels like he is useless when he can't settle her, which frustrates him, and she picks up on it and gets more unsettled. I try and help by giving him a break from the children as soon as I get home and allowing him some peace and quiet and time to himself. I have just got off the phone and I can hear the stress in his voice with the baby crying in the background. Its very hard. But its about supporting each other isn't it.

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