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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

Husband is spiralling out of control

135 replies

Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:01

Hey, so I am not entirely sure why or how I have found myself here but I need a sanity check from someone outside of the situation.

My husband and, by extension our entire family unit, has been through a lot of stress over the past couple of years, which has resulted in him developing depression. It's been really difficult to live with as his moods are just awful.

Around 2 months ago, I felt something was massively 'off,' and whilst it's not my finest moment, I checked his phone to find drug orders. I confronted him about this and he admitted he has been regularly (2-3 times per week, including just at home with our family) taking MDMA for 10+years and hiding it from me. Obviously, my world was pretty rocked at this revelation and his being able to keep a secret like this for 10 years (to give context, I do all the laundry and cleaning etc and have never found anything remotely suspicious). I knew he had been heavy drinking to cope with stress but had no idea this was going on. We chatted it through, I decided to support him and we committed to therapy.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we were at a small gathering of friends. To cut a long story short, that evening I also found out he's been taking coke. We had a disagreement, decided to come home to talk about it and laid it to bed...that was all done.

Then the following week, he went to a networking do and disappeared for the best part of 24 hours. When he came home (again wrong of me) I checked his wallet and found cocaine. I threw it away. The following week, he seemed 'off; again. I asked him to do a drug test and he was fine with it until I showed him I had already bought them, at which point he flipped out and became aggressive...the eventual result was that he was positive and had taken cocaine at work two days before.

His therapy has made things worse. In therapy he has created an entire fake persona for himself, making up literal rubbish about being scarred from his childhood (getting in trouble for smoking a fag etc or being told off for not being home on time). I am trying to be patient with this, however, I feel he may be exploiting me - I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and he knows any mention of childhood trauma really gets me on side. I understand trauma is caused in different ways and has different effects on people but I really feel these are normal childhood things being used to excuse his behaviour.

Since therapy began, his drinking is heavier. I am talking 10-12 beers and a third to a half of a bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine every day. Last week he had a seizure after drinking - I told him and he stopped for one day.

He is now becoming aggressive and verbally intimidating. Last night he called me a 'fat bitch,' 'poison,' a 'psychopath,' 'c*nt,' 'manipulative' and he says I am the cause of all his problems (even though he has been taking drugs for 35 years). He said he wanted to go to couples counselling (something which I have asked for and he has previously refused) and when I asked why he had changed his mind, thinking he really may want to save our marriage, he sneered and told me he wanted to see the counsellor tell me how ridiculous I am.

I am a smart, funny, well-educated woman and I cannot believe I am in this situation. He keeps begging me not to leave and telling me I promised to support him in sickness or in health but I cannot live in this misery. My friends tell me to leave but I can't find the strength.

So basically, I am here looking for people's opinions, am I completely ridiculous or is he being an abusive AH? Because right now I feel gaslit to the point of absolute insanity and am so ashamed that I can barely turn to anyone in real life anymore.

Please help me.

OP posts:
yeesh · 09/09/2024 12:05

Of course he is abusing you, he is an addict who has been lying to you for years. He won’t change and you can’t fix him. Leave him and make a happy life for yourself

Alalalala · 09/09/2024 12:07

He’s an abuser and you need to leave. You cannot help him nor support him to fix this. He is behaving abominably - plus a seasoned, shameless liar.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 09/09/2024 12:08

Your friends are correct.

Marriage counselling is never recommmended where there is abuse of any type within the relationship. Abuse is not a relationship issue; its about power and control. He wants absolute over you here. You are not also safe enough to undertake any form of joint counselling with him. If he can manipulate you he can further manipulate a counsellor into taking his side.

Find it within yourself to leave your abuser going forward. He is also not above using your own childhood trauma as a stick to further manipulate you with. Use the support of your friends, a Solicitor and Womens Aid to get away from this emotionally dangerous individual.

Velvetbee · 09/09/2024 12:11

Leave.

Supersimkin7 · 09/09/2024 12:13

He’ll try anything to get you to stay.

Leave. Tell everyone why.

Summerhillsquare · 09/09/2024 12:15

You've tried your best OP, he doesn't want help. Take steps to secure your finances first, before it all goes up his nose or down his gullet.

Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:15

1

OP posts:
Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:16

AttilaTheMeerkat · 09/09/2024 12:08

Your friends are correct.

Marriage counselling is never recommmended where there is abuse of any type within the relationship. Abuse is not a relationship issue; its about power and control. He wants absolute over you here. You are not also safe enough to undertake any form of joint counselling with him. If he can manipulate you he can further manipulate a counsellor into taking his side.

Find it within yourself to leave your abuser going forward. He is also not above using your own childhood trauma as a stick to further manipulate you with. Use the support of your friends, a Solicitor and Womens Aid to get away from this emotionally dangerous individual.

Thank you. Exactly this - he started solo therapy and has created an entire fake persona for the therapist about what a nice guy he is, how he is so beautiful and kind and gives his all to everyone but is abused and controlled in return. I want to scream at him that he is giving her my persona.

OP posts:
Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:17

Supersimkin7 · 09/09/2024 12:13

He’ll try anything to get you to stay.

Leave. Tell everyone why.

If I ever try to say anything in public he just completely discredits me. His family are deeply religious and he knows that they don't want to face up to the mess they've raised, so it is easier to blame me.

OP posts:
EarthSight · 09/09/2024 12:18

he says I am the cause of all his problems

I'm sorry OP, but I don't think there's no going back from a statement like that, including the other foul things he's called you.

If his statement were indeed true, then the best course of action would be to separate I would imagine.

However, if he's dumping all of his problems all onto you, which seems likely here, that is an abhorrent and abusive thing to do someone, and highly damaging. I reckon he's the poison here. He's just looking for a scapegoat to demonise and blame for the fact he's an addict.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 09/09/2024 12:18

The rotten apple that is he did not fall far from the rotten tree that is his parents.
Of course they will find it easier to blame you; like the abusers they are as well its always someone else's fault and never their own.

How can you be helped into leaving your abuser?.

TeaMistress · 09/09/2024 12:19

Oh my dear...you know that you need to leave him. He's a manipulative drug addict who is abusing you. Are there any children? What's your housing situation? I think you need to seek urgent legal advice and get police involved.

AgileGreenSeal · 09/09/2024 12:19

Get away from this dangerous man.

DelphiniumBlue · 09/09/2024 12:20

He is an abusive, lying addict and an alcoholic.
If you feel you need permission to end the marriage ( you don't) his behaviour is such that no one would expect you to hang around and keep subjecting yourself to this. Just the fact of the names he called you would be enough to justify you leaving him, but he is also, in your words, intimidating, and is clearly making your life miserable. You deserve better.
As other posters have said, joint counselling or mediation would not be appropriate in the circumstances, but you may find that the trauma this has caused you may be helped by you having counselling alone to help you get through the divorce.

Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:22

AttilaTheMeerkat · 09/09/2024 12:18

The rotten apple that is he did not fall far from the rotten tree that is his parents.
Of course they will find it easier to blame you; like the abusers they are as well its always someone else's fault and never their own.

How can you be helped into leaving your abuser?.

It is more emotional. I have a good job with a decent income. I can afford a nice place to live: it’s not that. He begs me to stay and tells me he will have nothing without me and he will kill himself. And I know his family will blame me because they are never introspective and don’t do accountability.

OP posts:
ItsAShame2 · 09/09/2024 12:25

I think you’re a saint. You feel you don’t have the strength to leave - but that’s because you are carrying him. Once you leave your burden will be lighter. Jesus woman you are strong!! Many would have left much sooner and no one would have blamed him. Go live and enjoy your life - you deserve much better than this. You have given him chance after chance - leave with no regrets.

ItsAShame2 · 09/09/2024 12:25

Sorry was meant to say no one would have blamed them not him!!

CatChant · 09/09/2024 12:25

Leave now.

Iamuhtredsonofuhtred · 09/09/2024 12:32

I divorced a Coke addict. I tried to make it work for years, hoped he would change, got him
into rehab, was blamed for all his problems, told I was abandoning him, gaslit by his enabling family, became hugely mentally unwell myself. We had bailiffs at the door constantly, he went missing for days on end, found drugs all over the house, forgot to collect the kids from school, stole from me, stole off our children. Slept till midday, wouldn’t lift a finger around the house, gave me a barrage of abuse if I tried to call him out on any of this. He had me turned so upside down that I genuinely believed I was the problem.

Looking back, I cannot believe how we were living. My eldest was diagnosed with PTSD and was under CAMHS for 2 years. I am waiting for my own assessment. I’ll never be the same, struggle to trust people, can’t trust my own judgment when it comes to men and relationships but at least now our home is peaceful and safe. These people will take everything from you, they don’t care about you, or the children, they’ll set your life on fire to get what they want. You can’t help him. You can only save yourself, and save your kids. I have so much guilt about letting it go on for as long as it did.

Every word out of his mouth is bullshit. All the promises, the remorse, the abuse, the ‘self awareness’. Until he commits to a programme of recovery and sticks with it, he cannot be helped.

TurtleCavalryIsSeriousShit · 09/09/2024 12:32

You are the cause of all his problems... yet he wants you to stay. Point this out to him. Tell him he'd be better off without "all his problems" i.e. you.

Women are not rehabs for men.

You promised to stay in 'sickness and in health' yes, but not if there is lying, game playing and manipulation.

You are not leaving him because he is 'sick'. You're leaving because he is a lying abuser.

Only he can fix himself. You cannot.

SerenityNowInsanityLater · 09/09/2024 12:32

You won’t overcome this because he can’t.
He’s lived a lie, deceiving and manipulating you and orchestrating his entire life around a 10 year addiction.
He’s not safe.
He can’t be trusted.
If the bonds and strengths of marriage and family haven’t been enough to encourage him to be his best or even better self, nothing can.
This is dead in the water.
You’ll need to leave and recover from this trauma of a marriage.
Arm yourself with therapy and a small but mighty support system. 💐

MissMoneyFairy · 09/09/2024 12:34

Scaredstressed · 09/09/2024 12:22

It is more emotional. I have a good job with a decent income. I can afford a nice place to live: it’s not that. He begs me to stay and tells me he will have nothing without me and he will kill himself. And I know his family will blame me because they are never introspective and don’t do accountability.

He is already killing himself with drugs and booze, he is abusive and a liar. This will not change whether you stay or go so leave, you need to put yourself first and who cares what his family think, you never need to see or speak to them again and I wouldn't bother with any couples therapy, he's beyond that, he needs addiction and behaviour therapy.

cheezncrackers · 09/09/2024 12:36

He is an abusive addict who won't change. My opinion? See a solicitor, get the ball rolling, separate, divorce. Your continued presence in his life is showing him that he can do anything he wants (abuse drugs, alcohol, you) and you'll still be there. Get out. Save yourself. He will drag you down with him if you don't.

Pantaloons99 · 09/09/2024 12:37

Whatever the reason, the story, the trauma - he's not taking accountability and is being abusive. You cannot work with people like this. You absolutely shouldn't go to couples therapy either as it's very dangerous.

Yes it's a buzz word ATM, probably because so many people are actually messed up beyond comprehension. - but he probably comes from a Narcissistic Family Cult dynamic. It's so messed up, you'd never understand it unless lived it. He's at the least someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder I imagine.

I have a male family member who is sociopathic and we live in a Narcissist family cult dynamic. This family member went to a few counselling sessions and absolutely unravelled and went off the rails. In some cases, facing the truth, facing reality and taking accountability are so IMPOSSIBLE, anyone trying to help you confront that is incredibly triggering. His reaction is typical sociopathic/ narc response.

I personally would get the hell out of this and don't trust one single member of his family.

Dearblossom · 09/09/2024 12:41

"I am a smart, funny, well-educated woman." Don't you forget this.

Cocaine is an insidious drug. You can leave and you must. You are worth so much more.

Get your ducks in a row. You are not responsible for his choices even if he threatens to take his own life. The only thing you are responsible for is your beautiful life and any dependents that need protecting from his awful behaviour.

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