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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

DH has no patience and anger issues

77 replies

Mammy45 · 12/09/2020 23:36

My dh is becoming really hard to live with. He's often moody and gives very little to the family emotionaly. He just works and relaxes. We have 1 ds 8. He has very little parenting to do as he leaves for work early and gets home around 6.
When he does do bedtimes or mornings he looses his temper so quickly. This morning he dragged ds out of bed because he was late for football training. Very rough and ds extremely distraught. I had to intermediate and calm the situation and ended up doing all the comforting of ds. Plus the getting him ready for training. I was and am traumatised. Im so worried how this impacts on ds. I am googling today is this abusive. Should we leave? Am i neglecting ds by allowing this kind of rough angry behavior of his father go unchecked. He looses it every few months and then most of the time is just low key grumpy. He has apologied and knows he was out of line but I've heard that before. I know if he roughly dragged me out of bed i would be gone so why should i accept that behaviour for an innocent child? But then i worry would the trauma of divorce be worse than the occasional parent loosing his temper. Would love to get some advice here. Our relationship is ok but his moods have made it very hard to enjoy time together. We just tick along with regular arguments about money and domestic stuff thrown in. Is this just marriage and family dynamics or something more serious?

OP posts:
Aquamarine1029 · 12/09/2020 23:42

I admit I'm shocked you even need to ask. Your husband violently dragging your child out of bed is very abusive and he should be arrested for it. That very moment would have been the last that man was in my home, I assure you.

Mixedandproud · 12/09/2020 23:44

This is definitely more serious and unacceptable.
I don’t know whether something like anger management would be worth trying in this situation. But my concern would be that this could be the tip of the iceberg. Will the physical and verbal abuse just keep escalating? I don’t think you can risk it especially when you have a young child who has already been hurt.

LovingLola · 12/09/2020 23:45

Please be the advocate for your son. He needs you to get him away from an abusive man.

TorkTorkBam · 12/09/2020 23:47

As the child of such situations: divorce is the best option by far.

This is NOT normal family dynamics. Not at all.

Mammy45 · 12/09/2020 23:56

Not defending but juat giving full picture. Hes not verbally abusive. He's rough occasionally. Not hitting. Thats why it's so hard for me to see clearly is it abuse. But today was totally unacceptable. He has agreed to go to counselling tonight. He knows it's not ok. He's a nice man. Spends all his time with us. But i think has low grade depression un diagnosed.

OP posts:
Mixedandproud · 13/09/2020 00:00

He is clearly Not a nice man.
If he goes straight to counselling and sees his GP about the possible depression then things might improve. But you need to be vigilant. He should not be left alone with DS and you need to be prepared to make him leave if he shows any signs of aggression again.

littlecatfeet · 13/09/2020 00:02

He needs to agree to seeing his GP at a bare minimum - I agree that this sounds like depression, irritability is a common feature. It's really good that he's agreed to counseling, do that ASAP.
Absolutely put your foot down, OP, living with a gloomy, angry man is just soul-destroying. He won't get better overnight but he needs to take responsibility for getting/being better, depression or not.

AutumnLeavesStart · 13/09/2020 00:03

Nice men don’t drag 8 year olds out of bed, even if they’ve got some undiagnosed depression.

Aquamarine1029 · 13/09/2020 00:04

Low grade depression does not make you a violent bully. Enough already with the excuses.

Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 00:08

Thank you all for the comments. It's so hard to see clearly when you are un the middle of it. And ds adores him. So it would devestate him if we split. Its so hard to know what to do. Ds father was a stern man and mine was a gentle Teddy bear so we have totally different experiences of what is normal for us.

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Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 00:11

@AutumnLeavesStart

Nice men don’t drag 8 year olds out of bed, even if they’ve got some undiagnosed depression.
Yes. He's not nice. But he's a quiet nonconfrontational person most of the time. Appears to be nice. Just totally out of character mood swings occasionally
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user165423256322 · 13/09/2020 00:18

Am i neglecting ds by allowing this kind of rough angry behavior of his father go unchecked.

Yes. You are allowing his father to abuse him. That's unforgivable.

His home is unsafe and unstable. He never knows when dad will kick off. He never knows what behaviour will be acceptable today. He never knows if he can relax. His body is constantly in a high stress state. He thinks it's normal to be bullied and hurt by people who claim to love you.

He is 8. A fully grown adult male roughly dragged him out of bed. How is that better than being hit?

He would have been completed overpowered and very, very aware of how powerless he was to defend himself from someone so much bigger and stronger - and who at that time was being aggressive, threatening, and was assaulting him.

A child's assessment of the threat to their life in such a scenario is different to an adult's. Because a child is much more vulnerable and less able to protect themselves. A child in that scenario would have been acutely aware that the adult could easily have seriously injured or killed him - and that the child could do nothing to stop them.

It would have been absolutely terrifying.

And to have his mother sitting back making excuses because she's decided he's not worth protecting from the abuser in his own home?

The damage this has already caused over the last eight years is significant. The lifelong damage and destruction it will cause if you continue to allow him to be abused for the rest of his childhood does not bear thinking about.

Your child is already traumatised. Stop making excuses for his abuser and stop pretending that you're staying to protect him from the so-called "trauma" of divorce.

Look up the Freedom Programme. It covers how children are affected by being forced to live with an abuser, and how they can recover if the abuser is removed.

He is an abuser. Stop making excuses for him and protect your child from him. It is very distressing that you have allowed your son to be abused like this.

user165423256322 · 13/09/2020 00:19

So it would devestate him if we split.

You're projecting.

Pashola · 13/09/2020 00:25

If he was willing to go to counselling and work on it seriously then I would give him the opportunity to do so.
I was in the same position as you and my DH refused counselling and I didn't leave for years and I regret it every day.
We eventually separated and he did finally get counselling, he handles things so much better now but I'm still living with the guilt that I didn't do more to protect my kids.
So my advice, if he doesn't attend counselling or it happens again, be straight out the door.

TorkTorkBam · 13/09/2020 00:29

Just totally out of character mood swings occasionally

Denial. Denial. Denial. You are in denial. His aggressive outbursts are a concrete central part of his character. Not out of character. Not a soppy euphemism for periodic violence of "mood swings"

This is his character.

Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 00:33

I appreciate all you have written as hard as it is to read. But honestly what you described doesn't sound like our home. He's not going around like a madman constantly. Its occasional loss of temper. Non gentle handling of getting organised for bed mornings etc. I mean every few months. This morning was bad but not normal or routine. His low mood is not anger its Just not super cherry. Again I know it sounds like I'm making excuses but I'm not. I'm describing the situation as accurately as i can. Ds isn't afraid of him. They play together every en board games or cards etc before bed and read stories together all the time plus as mentioned he brings him to football twice a week. Maybe i am making excuses and tell me if i am. But I want to show the full picture.

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Turboshift · 13/09/2020 00:42

What was your DH childhood and upbringing like? What is his relationship like with his family?

Anger is a surface emotion covering a deeper rooted issue. He has to find and deal with that issue if he doesn’t already know what it is. Anger management may help if he really engages with it and practices at home, what he learns. If he doesn’t he will only get worse.

It is terrifying for your son, as his dad, at his age is the most important male role model in his life. Home should be a safe haven from the world which can be horrible enough.

Aquamarine1029 · 13/09/2020 00:46

You do realise that once violence starts, it almost always escalates and gets worse. It sounds like you're making excuses because you are.

Let me say this, if I knew who you were, I would be calling social services and the police. That's how serious I believe this to be. Your level of denial is extremely alarming.

You say your son isn't afraid of your husband, but after what happened this morning, he is now.

Pashola · 13/09/2020 00:58

@Mammy45 I was like you. I would have defended my DH (if I'd ever told anyone) and did in my own head because I didn't either want to believe it or recognise it for what it was.
We could have weeks of so many good days and times and then suddenly he would blow up and it could last a few days or a week or more.
And in those good times I would second guess myself if those blow ups even happened. Eventually the bad times overtook the good times in frequency.
To everyone else he was amazing, and he was never a drinker, he didn't gamble or pester for sex, we never argued about money, he did 50% of the household chores and parenting without complaining or me asking, he was 'perfect' but all that still didn't stop him from being Jekyll and Hyde and turning into an angry (abusive) person.

SoulofanAggron · 13/09/2020 00:59

My sister and I lived like your son will and maybe is- walking on eggshells. The lack of a space to wind down at home has left me with such anxiety that I've never been able to work. It effects how the brain forms. It will effect your son's future outcomes- whether he has much of one or not, whether he's left with a disability and unable to work or form/maintain relationships.

It doesn't matter how rare the moods are, because there's still that atmosphere of living with someone who casts a cloud over the whole house, and/or is a volcano; you never know when they're going to erupt.

Depression doesn't make someone manhandle a child, nor does anger. That was something he chose to do to your son.

We all get angry sometimes, but we wouldn't treat a child as he chose to.

Anger is a surface emotion covering a deeper rooted issue. He has to find and deal with that issue if he doesn’t already know what it is. Anger management may help if he really engages with it and practices at home, what he learns. If he doesn’t he will only get worse.

@Turboshift Anger doesn't cause this. They do it because they think they have a right to, that they should be in control of the whole family. It stems from their sense of ownership and entitlement. He wouldn't do this at work because he couldn't get away with it. He can control his anger when he needs to. But at home he thinks he can get away with it or thinks he has a right to treat people he sees as his belongings this way.

Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 00:59

Aquamarine do think ds would be better in foster care? Seriously?

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Aquamarine1029 · 13/09/2020 01:02

Aquamarine do think ds would be better in foster care? Seriously?

If his father abuses him and his mother allows it, YES. Social Services would agree.

Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 01:04

So if i face this and accept that i have to separate. How do i explain it to ds without him feeling its his fault?

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MrsTerryPratchett · 13/09/2020 01:09

Read When Anger Hurts Your Kids: A Parent's Guide

And then ask your H to read it.

In some ways consistent physical chastisement (smacking) is better than once in a while. According to studies done with cultures that have it as part of the norm. Because the child interprets a smack every day as normal. But once in a blue moon, they must be a terrible awful child to have deserved that. So the fact that it is once in a while doesn't make it better. It may even make it worse.

Mammy45 · 13/09/2020 01:09

@Aquamarine1029

Aquamarine do think ds would be better in foster care? Seriously?

If his father abuses him and his mother allows it, YES. Social Services would agree.

This happened today. I asked for advice this evening. I think calling me an enabler is harsh. Im in the middle of it trying to understand what is going in and what's the best thing to do. You seem to be projecting a lot into my thread without asking even one question. Thanks for your input though
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