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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

Think I Have Lost The Plot. Please Help.

278 replies

TotalTizzy · 14/01/2013 21:01

I've been with my P for two years (don't feel like I can add the 'D' in front). He was great for the first year but the second year has been difficult. He will be lovely for weeks on end and then out of the blue he will blow up over something or do something seemingly out of character. He has always been a bit funny about me going out with my friends but now it feels suffocating. He has started doing things like giving me the silent treatment when I get in or putting the deadlock (I think that is what it's called) across the door so that I can't open it from the outside. On the occasions when he has locked me out, I have spent up to half an hour ringing him and knocking on the door but he doesn't respond. I know he is awake because sometimes he cuts the calls off or answers and pretends he can't hear me. One time I actually saw him standing in the shadows of our bedroom window watching me getting tearful and panicky but he totally denies he did this.

Once a week I have a physio appointment after work and he will go out that evening without fail and get absolutely blind drunk. He always justifies it by saying "You were out of house having a good time so why shouldn't I?" Since when the hell has seeing the physio been classed as FUN? The next day he will give me three different variations of what he had got up to while he was on the piss and he always tells me that someone has chatted him up (usually a glamour model FFS). His stories never make sense and if they do then it sounds like he has rehearsed a watertight itinerary and tells me to call one of his friends to verify it (which I don't). I always feel worried when he goes out now - I honestly never used to care but now I feel very anxious. When I speak to him about it he just accuses me of being a control freak and of wanting to keep him under the thumb. Sometimes I ask him not to go out and I become very needy which causes arguments. I hate myself for being like this and I know he resents that behaviour because he tells me often enough.

Sometimes I try to have a normal adult conversation with him about something and he will turn it round on me and start going off on one. For example one time he was moaning about being skint and I said he should stop spending so much money on booze (he thinks nothing of spending a hundred quid on a bottle of champagne in a bar even though he is up to his eyeballs in debt. He never buys that when he's with me btw, only when he is out with his flash friends) He suddenly went beserk and started interrogating me about men I fancy asking me the same questions over and over again until I snapped. He then went very quiet and calm then said "I've caught you out. You're getting angry because you're a fucking liar." Two days later he booked us a last minute 'romantic' trip to Rome as a way of apologising.

I really think I am losing my mind. I honestly dont know what is going on from one day to the next. Whenever I threaten to leave there are tantrums, tears, proclamations of undying love and expensive gifts but then a few days later when the dust has settled he will make it known that I am the one who causes all the problems. Everyone thinks he is such a nice bloke and I doubt they would believe me if I told them what was really going on. I just don't know what to do. Last time I tried to leave him he locked me in our house and took away my phone, keys and purse until I "calmed down and saw sense "as he put it. He also said he loved me too much for me to walk away. It's like a rollercoaster except the highs and lows are getting more and more extreme. I don't even know who I am anymore. I guess I am looking for reassurance that I should leave but im scared.

OP posts:
ladyWordy · 17/01/2013 14:33

Grin @ garlicblocks! Yes, who'd want to pass that up....!

Tizzy, his behaviour isn't normal for a normal person, though it's completely normal for an abuser, or a psychopath.

Hope you will speak to the police. It's not likely he'll give up easily, so it pays to be prepared. They ought to know everything, including that episode where he trapped you in the house (which I believe is an offence on its own - false imprisonment?)

I'm so glad you're out, keep safe Brew

Anniegetyourgun · 17/01/2013 14:35

Actually you do have a mental problem, Tizzy. It's him. The good news is it is totally curable. All you have to do is not see the twunt and your mental health will mysteriously improve 100%.

bigbuttons · 17/01/2013 15:00

tizzy, well done! Please remember that he is completely incapable of having decent ,normal relationship with anyone, at any time. You have got out and thank GOD for that.
It could be rocky for a while now though so baton down those hatches and hold fast!

izzyizin · 17/01/2013 15:32

Significantly, in the face of your df's refusal to engage in any debate with him, the twunt retreated without, it appears, protest.

This indicates that a proactive stance now will go some way to ensure you've seen the last of him.

As your dm has suggested, ring the police on 101 and ask to speak to an officer from the Domestic Violence Unit. Give him/her a brief history of the twunt's behaviour towards you and why, as he had previously locked you in the flat/house taking your phone with him, you had no option but to pack up and leave without his knowledge, report his visit to your dps' home this a.m, explain that you are fearful of what he may do next, and ask the officer's advice as to how to proceed to ensure your safety.

It's possible the police may taken it upon themselves to have a word in his shell-like in which case it's probable he'll disappea, a per pantomime demon tradition, in a puff of smoke.

If you haven't done so already, I suggest you give your boss or a colleague a call to see if the twunt has called at your office or has been spotted hanging around outside - if he has,report it to the police.

There's no need for you to hide away with an aunty; you're safe with your dps and your df has proved he's more than capable of seeing off the lying piece of gobshite should he have the temerity to visit again - which, as all bullies are abject cowards at heart, is highly unlikely.

Hevling · 17/01/2013 15:58

I agree with everyone else on here in that you must leave asap.If he is doing this after only two years and no children etc then this is just the beginning and it will get a whole lot worse.He sounds like he has mental issues which only he can sort out.He sounds potentially dangerous.
Be strong-xx

izzyizin · 17/01/2013 16:01

It would help if you'd read the thread Hevling Hmm Tizzy has left and is now faced with the aftermath of leaving.

HotDAMNlifeisgood · 17/01/2013 16:07

XDP was saying he didn't know why I had gone and he said he thought I might have had a breakdown as he was worried that I have mental health problems?! That's not normal behaviour is it? Dad shut the door on him and he left shortly afterwards.

Well done your Dad! Both of you have shown extreme good sense and courage.

Toxic, self-absorbed people consistently fall back on the "you must be having a breakdown!" solution when they face rejection. Because, you know, if you reject them that it must mean that you are insane Hmm. They'll grasp any solution that means they don't have to examine their own behaviour - it's par for the course. ignore.

It's also totally normal for you to be worrying that he will have a fulfilling relationship with someone else, because right now you are processing what feels like a failure: the fact that your relationship has ended. Please believe me when I say that you ending this relationship is the best kind of success, and somethiing you can be very, very proud of yourself for.

Seriously: well done.

diddl · 17/01/2013 16:25

Good on your Dad.

And just for info-you can leave someone for no reason at all or because you´re bored/outgrown them whatever.

And most people just accept this & move on.

ScarletWomanoftheVillage · 17/01/2013 17:53

Hey Tizzy, well done to you and your mum and dad!

Please try not to worry about him going on to have a lovely relationship with somebody else - HE IS UNABLE TO DO THIS.

His relationships will be abusive, because THIS IS WHO HE IS. You didn't make him treat you this way, it's not about what you did. Again, this is who he is, and this is how he treats people. So don't get in a tizzy about that, Tizzy.

ImperialBlether · 17/01/2013 23:42

It's fantastic that you escaped! Well done!

Just worrying about your workplace - how will you get to work? Do you think he'll be hanging around?

One thing you could do is to be talking to your mum/a friend when you leave the bus/car park and walk into work. He will not want you to say something about him.

ArtsMumma · 18/01/2013 03:33

Well done! I just wanted to say that saying you have a mental illness is a classic way of disempowering you. My ex insisted so often that I had mental health problems that I believed him to the extent that I developed depression and anxiety problems and did actually need counselling. Looking back I cant believe I accepted his behaviour. Reading your post reminded me a lot of him and I was so frightened for you. Have confidence that while this is difficult now, he will move on. I completely understand how you feel about the thought of him being in a functional relationship. My ex moved into a "happy" relationship soon after we split and even though I was terrified of him and couldnt bear the thought of even glimpsing him in the supermarket ever again, it still hurt to think of him with someone else. I kept wondering if he would be happy and it really was me who was abusive, but in time it just became so clear to me that he was in the wrong. It became even clearer when I met a man who treated me with the respect and love I deserve, and we are so happy. That will happen for you, and you will be so much stronger for having been through all this. You are amazing, keep your chin up!

Chaoscarriesonagain · 18/01/2013 18:37

How are you today OP?

LiveItUp · 18/01/2013 21:58

Total - how are you?

TarkaDahlOtter · 19/01/2013 08:20

hi op.as hot damn and arts post..totally scripted"you have Mh issues"..and I too feared him being in a functional relationship. looking back though,I know he will never be capable of having one.well done you..you will feel that too.and now you are safe x

Walkacrossthesand · 19/01/2013 08:39

I hope she's safe, Tarka - she's not posted for a couple of days and the last time was to report that twunt was trying the 'tears & concern for MH' tack - hope he hasn't managed to get hold of her and take her away from safety...

AllOverIt · 19/01/2013 08:39

So pleased you've left. I was in a relationship for 6 years with someone similar. I eventually left and it was 6 years too late. Now happily married with two gorgeous DC. Smile

Xales · 19/01/2013 10:41

So worried about you having MH issues and a breakdown that it took him over 12 hours to contact your family!

Did he have something more important to do first that evening that he didn't want to put off Hmm

TotalTizzy · 19/01/2013 12:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aleene · 19/01/2013 12:32

TT, stay strong! what he is doing is a tactic. Sorry he has got his mother involvved but she is biased so don't worry about her.

Please don't doubt yourself. Just reread your OP!

Chaoscarriesonagain · 19/01/2013 12:52

TT sorry to hear all of this, you're handling it all incredibly well.

The MIL sounds quite wicked and has a brass neck to show up like that at your Parents . My ex MIL was a sick and wicked manipulator too, the signs were always there about her son, I just chose to ignore them!

It sounds like your friends , family and colleagues are being fantastic, this is exactly what you need just now.

I get better ever day , but it's still very hard to understand, which is why I've stopped trying to.

Are you managing to keep busy out of work?

diddl · 19/01/2013 12:54

If he´s suicidalHmm, then he needs to get help, doesn´t he??

AnyFucker · 19/01/2013 12:54

Christ, this nobhead is persistent

Keep logging any further visits with the police.

AngryTrees · 19/01/2013 12:59

A grown man does not need his mother to come along and plead his case, and the fact that she got involved to this extent is weird, quite frankly. She sounds quite dysfunctional too, and he's obviously been manipulating her as well with threats of suicide.

Well done for not engaging with any of it. I hope he leaves you alone now, but be ready to log every incident that happens with the police.

garlicblocks · 19/01/2013 12:59

Tizzy, neither he nor his mother understand that any adult has the absolute right to leave any relationship without reason, explanation or justification. A relationship that didn't recognise this right would be slavery, imprisonment or kidnapping.

Normally we talk of a moral duty to let the other person down respectfully - what we mean when we say you "owe" someone an explanation. It's only ever a choice, though - not a literal duty - and it presupposes complete freedom on both sides. No slave or kidnap victim owes their gaoler an apology for escaping.

there is no other explanation for me leaving
She has ignored the most obvious explanation; that you don't want to be there any more. This is enough.

'He idolises her and this is how she repays him!'
She feels people should pay for being loved.

Normal people don't try to coerce others into being 'loved'. Normal people recognise that is not love, it's objectification and abuse.

A normal mother would be comforting her upset son, not trying to corral his partner back into his cage.

A normal mother would actively discourage her son from trying to force his ex back to him - she'd see that he was behaving irrationally and disrespectfully.

I think we can see how your ex grew up the way he did!
You are so well shot of them!

ScarletWomanoftheVillage · 19/01/2013 13:02

God tizzy, well done for staying strong throughout this, bloody well done.

The way he is behaving now totally confirms that you have done the right thing.

Of course his mum is just going to regurgitate what he has told her. What she has to say means nothing. Brilliant that your friends and family are defending you so well. And at work too.

Suicidal, eh? FFS.

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