I left my abusive partner. We had only been together for 2 years but in that time he had eroded my self confidence, made me doubt myself constantly, told my family I had mental issues, locked me in my room, grabbed me and was physically intimidating. Yet despite it all I still for some crazy reason loved him and believed that I was helping him through an awfully hard time in his life. I believed he'd come out the end of this and love me like I deserved to be.
In the couple of weeks before I left him I read through many threads on mumsnet and it was these that slowly made me realise my situation wasn't OK. Thank you to all the strong women who opened up on these to speak about their experiences.
This week I had to file a police report against one of the incidents - I had called them when I was locked in his car - and it was a wake-up call. I have 3 DCs (not his) and I became worried for their safety. I became honest with my friends about the abuse and the way he treated me and they convinced me I - and the kids - deserved better.
I feel a hundred pounds lighter. We were engaged but hadn't yet bought a house together or had a child. I feel so lucky I managed to get out when I did and know it was easy for me compared to some. I just wanted to say that it's possible. Women are so strong and none of us should stay in a relationship where we're made to feel small. Thank you mumsnet for your part in making me realise this.