Just that really. Do you think there are women who just have zero tolerance for crappy behaviour, end things at the very first red flag and just will never find themselves in abusive relationships?
If so, what characteristics do you think these women have that make them able to do this?
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Is any woman impossible to abuse?
Sushi4Dins · 16/03/2023 00:25
DontGetEvenGetEverything · 16/03/2023 02:26
I think most people underestimate how clever, careful and manipulative abusive males are.
But, having said that, I think they choose their victims. No abuser stumbles into a relationship and then, oh no, I just can't help abusing my partner. They choose victims who lack emotional, social and financial resources. Same with sexual abusers, targeting kids (including their own) who don't have a trusting relationship with any adult.
So, I'd suggest, it's not that un-abusable women spot the red flags. It's that abusive men are smart enough to only do what they can get away with.
BluebellBlueballs · 16/03/2023 06:58
In terms of a narcissistic, EA partner I'd say once you've seen the light and learned about it it's possible to be narc-aware and getbout of such relationships before they go too far
I say this with personal experience
Sadly many don't learn to set boundaries and repeat the dynamic
So impossible, no
PostItNotations · 16/03/2023 10:16
A sense that God provides, not human beings.
An ability to entertain and amuse oneself - not afraid of being alone.
An open mind to the future - being willing to explore new and unexpected avenues. It’s extraordinary the things that can happen that you didn’t imagine.
You have empathy, but not to an extreme degree.
You are ruled more by your mind rather then the heart - an analytical logical mindset. You think in terms of pros and cons and gains and losses…
…You prioritise your psychological well-being and health - you are willing to sacrifice other things for this.
You always keep an exit strategy, there are other resources open to you other than a career and money. State safety nets are there for a reason, use them.
You have a firm faith in your own perception and ability to draw conclusions - you consciously give yourself plenty of time and space to do this.
You do not mind roughing it a bit if you necessarily - you understand that human beings are at their core very adaptable and extremely resilient.
Sex, wealth, and status do not wield undue power over you - you understand there are more important and satisfying things. You make strong efforts to find out what those things are and taste them for yourself.
You understand that very little is foolproof and it’s possible for each person to “meet their master” sooner or later. You know that eventuality won’t break your spirit and you will find a way to rise above it.
Sushi4Dins · 16/03/2023 00:25
Just that really. Do you think there are women who just have zero tolerance for crappy behaviour, end things at the very first red flag and just will never find themselves in abusive relationships?
If so, what characteristics do you think these women have that make them able to do this?
OriginalUsername2 · 16/03/2023 02:55
I have become this person but it took a lot of experience, reading and understanding.
When I was in an abusive relationship all my friends’s partners were crappy too, plus I had always been treated like crap by my own family. It was nothing new, just how people were.
Once I told my mum that my partner had got angry with our baby for waking up and practically slammed him into the cot, shouting at him to “go to fucking sleep”. She said “yeah, men get like that.”
I was literally told on a forum in capital letters. YOU ARE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP. GET OUT. But this lady was American. I just thought Americans must take this stuff more seriously over there. If I had said to anyone I knew that I was in an abusive relationship at the time they would have rolled their eyes. Emotional abuse wasn’t a thing any of us recognised. I had no bruises.
It still took me years to leave. The relationship was 3 - 6 weeks of things being great, then a really, really shitty few weeks where I would feel absolutely gutted and miss the nice version of him. I would be abused emotionally and be so upset I would ask him for a cuddle, needing comfort from the “good version” of him. He would give me a stiff hold with a cold demeanour.
Soom enough the “good version” of my partner would be back and I would be so relieved and happy. I would try to be the best girlfriend possible to prevent the bad times.
It took years to figure out what was happening, lots and lots of reading about psychology, relationships, types of abuse.
And even then - how do you break up with someone who’s family have been your family for years. How do you make a man leave his home and his children when he’s being the “good version”?
It was messy and heartbreaking and I lost a family. And that’s just the first few months. Co-parenting with a man like this is a whole second abusive relationship.
Zola1 · 16/03/2023 09:57
I feel like this is a really unpleasant, victim blaming thread. I'm sure it wasn't intended that way, but through my professional lens I'm reading it thinking how painful it would be for some of the ladies I support to read all these lists of things they should have done better.
Rather than aspiring to some mysterious list of the right qualities, maybe we should wonder about how we stop men being abusive
SideshowAuntSallly · 16/03/2023 10:56
This 100% I feel there is also an air of smugness coming from those who say they'd never let someone abuse them. It's all too easy to say they'd leave when they've never been in that situation. When you've had your confidence knocked out of you, your self worth slowly eroded over the years. When you've been told you won't survive without them you start to believe it. I was a shell of who I was by the end of our marriage.
I'm an intelligent,professional from a loving close knit family whose parents never really argue.
Zola1 · 16/03/2023 09:57
I feel like this is a really unpleasant, victim blaming thread. I'm sure it wasn't intended that way, but through my professional lens I'm reading it thinking how painful it would be for some of the ladies I support to read all these lists of things they should have done better.
Rather than aspiring to some mysterious list of the right qualities, maybe we should wonder about how we stop men being abusive
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