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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

How can I get by these feelings of inadequacy?

3 replies

howcanigetbythis · 03/05/2018 06:26

Name change because of personal info and sorry this is going to be long-Background info- been together 24 years, since I was 16, him 20, started out rocky, he cheated on me in the beginning, and may have also cheated with one of my best friends, but that was denied by both of them and had no proof. I continued the relationship, but with little trust on my part, as retrospectively I had a shit upbringing, and had low self esteem and didn’t consider I deserved better. I got pregnant at 16 and had my first baby at 17 and as far as I know there has been no more cheating. My issue that I’m asking here for is that from after having my first baby I put on weight and as we went on to have a large family I never really lost it, but any chance I tried to diet and loose a couple of stone, dh would strongly discourage it and basically sabotage it by offering all the food that I love and at the end of a long day dieting and minding children I’d cave in, he would say he loved me as I was and please don’t change. Only thing was he didn’t act like he loved me like I was and would often say little things over the course of our relationship, like an example would be one day in a restaurant booth I flashed my cleavage and he said put those stretch marks away, or I asked for a nice bra and pants set for Christmas and when I tried them on he looked at me and said he should of bought a bigger size as they clearly didn’t fit. Little things like this and I always felt him chip away at my self esteem and now I feel very self conscious around him, I’d never let him see me naked. We have had a very mediocre sex life, on average 3 times a week, apart from a short break post birth, I've always been very adventurous for him, basically doing anything he wanted, whatever position he was in mood for, and I always found it hard to climax through penetration so he never bothered trying anything for me. This changed last year and he now spends time on oral for me first. I’ve basically felt very unattractive for years now, like I’m just a mother figure and not sexy or wanted by him, just someone to have sex with. I recently found him looking at porn sub Reddit’s, naked 20 year olds showing their bits off. I’ve taken this really really badly for a few reasons, 1 was he always told me he rarely masturbated and didn’t agree with, like or watch any type of porn and 2 because the girls he was viewing are younger then our own daughter and the same age as another. I have felt emotions of feeling inadequate, unattractive, that I can’t ever live up to the young girls he was masturbating to, disgust at him for the age group, if it was just regular porn stars having sex I don’t think I’d feel as let down but these are real life young girls in college taking nude photos and putting them online and the trust issues have come to surface again because of his lies over it all. He’s been very remorseful but I just can’t get over it, I feel so angry with him, and I can’t stop. I know that a lot of this is my problem and I just need to move on, but I just don’t know how to get by it and I’ve tried so hard?. Half the time I feel like I've lived for so long feeling like this and why should I stay in a relationship where he makes me feel so shit and then the other half I feel I could never leave because of the kids and that I do love him. Does anyone have any suggestions that I can try to stop feeling so crappy over the whole situation? I’m sorry this is so long and thanks for getting this far if you have.

OP posts:
Shoxfordian · 03/05/2018 06:38

Sorry but my suggestion is to leave him.
He seems disrespectful, uncaring, might have cheated on you. He's not kind to you. He doesn't show you or act like he loves you.

Whatiwishfor · 03/05/2018 07:52

Im so sorry you feel this way. I kind of understand where your coming from my stbxh made me feel this way too. He used to say some odd stuff sexually like "i want to have sex in a way that i carnt with the mother of my children" wtf does that even mean. He constantly watched porn and used to do it next to me in the bed when he though i was asleep when he know it really bothered me. As part of him leaving me he said "we never snog like in the porn"

I would take a good look at the whole of your relationship and consider if he actually treats you well or not? i suspect your find that his disrespectful behaviour is across the board and is a sign of his lack of respect for you. Sorry to say.
Im 16 months post my husband leaving me and its still hard. My self esteem has hugely improved but its still hard when your conditioned to believe your second best. You deserve much better than your getting

hellsbellsmelons · 03/05/2018 13:26

I feel I could never leave because of the kids
But you state they are over 20 in your OP.
They are NOT kids.
You have done what you can.
You have been beaten and trodden down.
Now it's YOUR time.
Time for you.
Time to get out and enjoy life away from the verbal abuse.
Focus on what you want to look like.
Don't be forced into eating what you don't want to eat.
Exercise. Be the strong woman you know you are.
Some therapy/counselling may help a lot as well.

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