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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

Support for those in Emotionally abusive relationships number 10

999 replies

foolonthehill · 09/07/2012 20:53

Am I being abused?

Verbal Abuse A wonderfully non-hysterical summary. If you're unsure, read the whole page and see if you're on it.
Emotional abuse from the same site as above
Emotional abuse a more heartfelt description
Signs of Abuse & Control Useful check list
why financial abuse is domestic violenceAre you a free ride for a cocklodger, or supposed to act grateful for every penny you get for running the home?
Women's Aid: "What is Domestic Violence?" This is also, broadly, the Police definition.
20 signs you're with a controlling and/or abusive partner Exactly what it says on the tin

Books :

"Why Does He Do That?" by Lundy Bancroft - The eye-opener. Read this if you read nothing else.
"The Verbally Abusive Relationship" by Patricia Evans ? He wants power OVER you and gets angry when you prove not to be the dream woman who lives only in his head.
"The Verbally Abusive Man, Can He Change?" by Patricia Evans - Answer: Perhaps - ONLY IF he recognises HIS issues, and if you can be arsed to work through it. She gives explicit guidelines.
"Men who hate women and the women who love them" by Susan Forward. The author is a psychotherapist who realised her own marriage was abusive, so she's invested in helping you understand yourself just as much as helping you understand your abusive partner.
"The Emotionally Abusive Relationship: How to Stop Being Abused and How to Stop Abusing" by Beverley Engels - The principle is sound, if your partner isn't basically an arse, or disordered.
"Codependent No More : How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself" by Melody Beattie - If you a rescuer, you're a co-dependent. It's a form of addiction! This book will help you.
But whatever you do, don't blame yourself for being Co-dependent!

Websites :

So, you're in love with a narcissist - Snarky, witty, angry, but also highly intelligent: very good for catharsis
Dr Irene's verbal abuse site - motherly advice to readers' write-ins from a caring psychotherapist; can be a pain to navigate but very validating stuff
Out of the fog - and now for the science bit! Clinical, dispassionate, and very informative website on the various forms of personality disorders and how they impact on family and intimate relationships.
Get your angries out ? You may not realise it yet, but you ARE angry. Find out in what unhealthy ways your anger is expressing itself. It has probably led you to staying in an unhealthy relationship.
Melanie Tonia Evans is a woman who turned her recovery from abuse into a business. A little bit "woo" and product placement-tastic, but does contain a lot of useful articles.
Love fraud - another site by one woman burned by an abusive marriage
You are not crazy - one woman's experience. She actually has recordings of her and her abusive partner having an argument, so you can hear what verbal abuse sounds like. A pain to navigate, but well worth it.
Baggage reclaim - Part advice column, part blog on the many forms of shitty relationships.
heart to heart a wealth of information and personal experiences drawn together in one place

If you find that he really wants to change
should I stay or should I go bonus materials this is a site containing the material for men who want to change?please don?t give him the link?print out the content for him to work through.

The Bill of Rights
bill of rights here is what you should expect as a starting point for your treatment in a relationship, as you will of course be treating others!!

OP posts:
bertiebassett · 14/08/2012 22:56

He just pushed me into a wall

newbeteacher · 14/08/2012 23:09

Bertie hugs how much longer until u r free from this nasty man?

Paranoid hugs too & I would recommend Silver s wise words we all need to allow ourselves to heal & not fight the emotions. There are days I feel fine & days I feel Completely overwhelmed by my emotions xx

paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife · 14/08/2012 23:12

Thank you.
Bertie, no matter how sad and angry i feel now, it's still much better than what I was putting up with from him. Hope you can find some safety and sanity soon.x

unhappyhildebrand · 14/08/2012 23:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bertiebassett · 14/08/2012 23:47

I was shouting at him because he'd threatened to apply for custody of DS. I was furious that he'd say such a thing. He pushed me against a wall. My arm has a scrape on it from the stone of the wall.

He apologised afterwards. He appears to have agreed that we need to sell the house and that he needs to move out ASAP.

I don't trust him though.

Do you think I should tell solicitor about this incident? Log it with police? I think I'm a bit shocked TBH...

unhappyhildebrand · 14/08/2012 23:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bertiebassett · 15/08/2012 00:19

Ok just logged incident with police...told them I'm safe (mum here with me) and that they don't need to do anything now. They will call me tomorrow...

He will go mental if he finds out I've contacted police...

tryingtoescape · 15/08/2012 00:34

Hi just posted and lost the post.

bertie I was so shocked and worried by your post, so glad you have mum there and feel safe for now. You did the right thing logging with police; also, this thread is evidence. I am so sorry, I hope you're ok-ish.

Nini and hilde thanks for thoughts and kind words. Hilde, even when we're not actually out yet, we're moving forwards by posting on here and getting stronger - interesting your RL friend noted this.

Paranoid I feel so sorry for your pain. You are going in the right direction and you are a good and brave person.

Bertie just adding some hugs.

tryingtoescape · 15/08/2012 00:35

PS doc said today she didn't want me facing any stress and I must ensure I have none in order to get better - ho ho ho, what to do, eh???!

unhappyhildebrand · 15/08/2012 08:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NiniLegsInTheAir · 15/08/2012 09:38

bertie really really hope you're ok, and well done on logging it with the police. Hopefully they can help you today.

And good for you hilde, keep being strong. Knowing what they're attempting to do to us relieves them of some of their power!

This is trivial in comparison to everyone else I know, but NSDH isn't talking to me again. Last night I was looking through the top baby names of last year (DD was born last year and it interested me) and we were both looking up names of babies we knew/had liked ourselves. For some reason he was starting to pick names for a future baby (Hmm) until I reminded him we weren't having any more. Then he asked me to look up a name - which isn't really a name at all, just a Spanish word he liked. Just after DD was born he pulled this name out of thin air and tried to persuade me to change her name to what we had agreed (which was the name of my nan who had died while I was pregnant so there was no way I was giving it up). I was furious at the time (long traumatic birth with no support from him) and the midwife had to step in to get him to back off.

So I said something along the lines of "Ah yes, the name you blindsided me with when DD was born." Cue him pouting and complaining that he 'never blindsided me' etc etc. Then he stopped talking to me, so I asked him if he wasn't talking to me anymore and he walked out of the room. He slept downstairs and this morning was deliberately banging around our bedroom to wake me up (not sure if anyone remembers this but it was exactly this behaviour a few months back when he kept deliberately waking me and DD up in the mornings that led me to pull him up on it and him hitting me).

Sigh. And to top it all off I had a bit of a stalker incident off a very creepy guy in my road this morning. Isn't that the cherry!

bertiebassett · 15/08/2012 09:57

I'm ok. Didn't sleep much last night.

In police station now waiting to be seen...this feels quite surreal...

TheSilverPussycat · 15/08/2012 10:04

bertie saw your post last night, but pills were kicking in and I had to sleep...

I suppose at least it moves things forward [rueful]

NoMoreNotNever · 15/08/2012 10:25

Sorry to hear that, Bertie. What is even more surreal is when the police tell you it IS serious. It's all very well gradually convincing yourself things are not right, but when the blue-flashy-light people validate it for you it suddenly feels very different indeed. Best of luck. x

NoMoreNotNever · 15/08/2012 10:27

Nini, the thing is trivial, the effect isn't - because now you'll be using up 90% of your mental space wondering how it will resolve, when it will resolve, what he'll say, what you might say, is this a relapse, etc etc. You should have some space in your mind free for the outside world!

bertiebassett · 15/08/2012 10:31

Do I just keep it as just a police log or do I report it as assault? Don't know what to do...

TheSilverPussycat · 15/08/2012 10:35

I think I would go for assault - but that's easy for me to say. Remember to mention that you are recovering from a serious illiness.

NoMoreNotNever · 15/08/2012 10:39

Bertie, the police told me that if they wrote it down as assault they would have no choice but to arrest him. They gave me the option. At the time (still, in fact), I didn't want something like that to happen to him so I asked them not to. I suppose you ask yourself what is likely to happen if they do arrest him - will it mean you could safely have him come back/would want him home afterwards, or would you rather speak to them about not having him back in the house (which they would make happen for you).

unhappyhildebrand · 15/08/2012 10:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bertiebassett · 15/08/2012 12:15

I've decided just to log it as an incident (police called it a 'niche'?). They said if I reported it as an assault he would be arrested...even though he'd most likely be released with a caution I just can't go down that route yet.

The policeman who interviewed me was lovely and very supportive. He looked at my arm and said it looked swollen and as if there was a bruise coming (I hadn't noticed). He said if I change my mind at any point and want to report it as assault I can. Also emphasised that I should call police if I feel at all scared or it happens again.

Next question...Do you think I should tell NSDH that I've logged it?

NoMoreNotNever · 15/08/2012 12:37

Ifs and Buts!

If you tell him, it may make him think more seriously about his behaviour because it is no longer just a case of making you accept it, he has to convince a wider audience it is alright, and that will not work with the police. So he may be a bit shocked and a bit remorseful.

But, he may feel you are now painting him as the Bad Man to the outside world - unfairly, since he couldn't help himself Hmm - and will resent you for making him look bad. And that can lead to worse behaviour - probably not physical with his logged incident in mind - but certainly verbal as he tells you just how you are ruining his reputation.

NiniLegsInTheAir · 15/08/2012 12:56

bertie Agree with Nomore, pros and cons to both. When I told NSDH I'd logged him hitting me back in April, he went down the route of choosing to pretend it never happened - both the attack and the log. He's never mentioned it. Your choice what would you prefer to do - think I would tell him myself.

And nomore you're absolutely right, it's all I can think about today. Sad

ponygirlcurtis · 15/08/2012 14:02

I?m not getting much chance to log on at the moment, because of intermittent internet, so whenever I do manage to catch up here I feel like I?ve missed loads so apologies if I?m responding to stuff from days ago... Lots of new people too, all who sadly do have to be here, even if they don?t feel like it - TalkyWalky, I have to say that your story completely resonated with mine, it?s very similar. I?ll try and get more time online now that the kids are back at school (here in Scotland anyway) and say hi to more of you.

Sunrise, how are you after your spaghetti-headedness? I am in a similar position in that I let that happen too, and it?s helped in some ways (it?s given NSDH a reason to believe we can work on things) but in others it?s just clouded things (he seems to think we?re back to normal in that regard, and is still making me feel awful if I don?t want to). In a way, it?s helping highlight that the same issues are still around from when we were together.

Bertie - oh poor you. Hope you?re doing ok, I?m sure you probably still feel a bit shaky. You?ve absolutely done the right thing, I wish I?d logged it with the police in January when NSDH assaulted me, then at least that would be on record. Now you have proof. It?s an awful thing that?s happened, but you can make it work for you.

Nini - see it all as part of the journey you are taking that will eventually get you out of there. I knew I would leave at some point, and I think you do too. At some point, probably as the result of something trivial (hopefully, rather than some awful incident), you?ll decide enough is enough.

Things have been awful the last few days, so up and down ? had a bad night Saturday, partly me drinking a bit too much and getting a bit over-the-top and upset, but when I realised I took myself off to bed but still felt very guilty the next day. Which makes me sad, for all the many, many times NSDH behaved much worse and seemed untroubled by it. Then an argument on Monday night when he stayed over at my new flat, because I was tired and just wanted to go to sleep (apparently I?m out of order for not putting in 10mins? effort for his our enjoyment). Then yesterday, while we were trying to get back to an even keel, he brought up the issue of our DS staying with him for an overnight (deliberate timing?). DS is not 9 months yet, so I?ve been reluctant, but I?ve made sure NSDH has seen him nearly every day of the hols. I?ve put myself out to do this. When I said I didn?t think so, he started getting quite heavy about it, saying DS would be staying there that night, ie I wasn?t allowed to taking him home. I felt a bit panicky, but almost hoped he?d go through with it, so I could then just end things and move on. Of course, he didn?t go through with it, and when I went back to get DS I found myself putting on an Oscar performance in case he changed his mind, smiling and letting him hug me and reassuring him that things were fine between us. Today I?ve told him I?m having a break ? he wanted to see me today, to get things back on track, but I?m exhausted (plus dealing with new routine of school run on my own). I want to say to him ? things are not good between us. You are not doing enough to make things different. I am not happy. I don?t want this emotional rollercoaster, it?s no improvement on the life I left. Instead, when he texts me with silly messages then says ?Thinking about you darling?, I?m texting back ?Thinking about u 2 darling?. Because I have no spine? Because I am so desperate to be loved that I can?t bear to push him away even though he?s not right for me? Because I?m so conditioned to keeping the peace that I?ll pretend all is ok until I believe it as well? I know I?ve come so far, in leaving him and setting up home on my own, but I still feel so far from getting what I want ? which is either for him to change enough for me & the boys to go back, or to end it.

NoMoreNotNever · 15/08/2012 14:08

Because you're exhausted, and contradicting him means ramping up the emotional effort, Pony?

ponygirlcurtis · 15/08/2012 14:16

You're right, NoMore. Completely. I'm truly exhausted, physically and emotionally. Not quite sure how I keep going! But I think you've hit on something, similar to what I said about being conditioned to keep the peace - or to take the path of least resistance. I'm scared to do anything that will affect the equilibrium.

How are you doing? Has your FW stayed away? Hope so. You were very brave.