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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

'H' Has just walked out.......

224 replies

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 01/07/2009 21:36

Head in such a mess. DS was going into one of his meltdowns and I have so so much work to do. I wanted H to try and sort it.

But it doesn't work. And DS said 'don't ask him, he has probably been drinking.'

H was trying but his tone was impatient and unsympathetic and was winding DS up.

I pointed it out, I don't know, things started to escalate very quickly, and in frustration i expressed that DS had said he was frightened when he had been drinking...I didn't know H had already had a drink....

He blew up, packed a bag and walked out.

I am such a mess. Trying to accept that my marriage is over and that the man I married slowly disappeared. It is my wedding anniversary on friday, and part of me never wants to see him again and part of me feels so very sad that it is all such a mess.

I can't fall apart but I want to. I don't want to keep things together any more and keep putting sticking plaster on a wound that doesn't want to heal.

I am not sure what to do.

Oh shit........

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FairMidden · 02/07/2009 22:21

TMW I too have only just seen this - I am so sorry you are having to go through this.

I think you have strong instincts and if you can stay tough and follow them then you will come through this. I wish I could do more for you - just take each day at a time and do what you know is right.

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 02/07/2009 22:32

Thank-you to everyone...has been a saviour today when things started to get too much to come and listen to wise words and have some support.....

It is always such a help to know people are looking out for you even if the support is just a hug or empathy from a well wisher....thanks..

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blinks · 02/07/2009 23:38

you need more support. please consider going to al-anon. don't dwell on the opinions of people who have vested interests in the situation or are ill-informed. you ARE doing the right thing. know that.

i like the way you're thinking though... you've got to grips with who's responsibile for this situation.

keep it that way and just keep batting em back. don't even let his desperate efforts permeate your brain. he's struggling and you're his safety net.

focus on your (wonderful) list of what you want. every single one of those things is achievable.

Go team Mitsubishi Warriore!

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 05:15

oh blinks....

talking on here and him actually not being here has helped clear my head a little.

I think he had planned to come back...he had done it before, but I told him not to.

His Mum kept asking me why when we had had such a strong relatonship in a lot of ways. I aked her to understand that i couldn't go in to detail about how awful things were in the house..(esp to her), but could she understand that to have reached this point, it must have been pretty bad, in order to have made this decision.

I must confess if his brother rings me up as well I am going to find it in me to draw a line in being cross examined by his family, however much it is because they care. My family have not done so to H AND THE PRESSURE OF HAVING TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO PEOPLE WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE LOYAL TO HIM, IS NOT WHAT i NEED RIGHT NOW.(sorry, loud)

How long before the impact of Dad going do I expect to see real differences? They both had sad moments yesterday, but they were lovely, esp. DS who was very protective and I saw in him what I know he can be like. We certainly diidn't have any rages. But I know there will be a novelty value to the situation...

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TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 05:38

Actually he is lucky my family aren't of the ilk to iterrogate him, they are as equally loyal and I am related to half of the population of coventry,

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TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 06:11

Actually, I have to say that whilst I feel defensive in talking to DSS's about their Dad, they are the loveliest men, I think very highly of them both and couldn't have asked for nicer DSS's (and their girlfriends), and it has broken my heart that splitting with their Dad may affect my relationship with them..

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TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 08:55

DD is telling everybody that Daddy left.....

Ds wants to keep it veyr private...

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weegiemum · 03/07/2009 08:57

MW I don't know what to say.

But am thinking of you.

Here's a very unmumsnetty ((hug)).

blinks · 03/07/2009 09:32

it's amazing how fast kids settle down once the focus of the chaos is removed.

it's very frightening to be a child in a house with an alcoholic. it's stressful for everyone involved but especially for a child.

also the emphasis is also often on the main adult relationship and it's breakdown, which draws attention away from the general needs of the children.

don't fall into the trap of bringing him back, only to chuck him out when things aren't getting better... that is one of the worse things you can do for the children. they will lose trust in you (i know i did).

if you're making arrangements for him to see the kids it would be wise to have someone else there and to insist that he's not had a drink. if he drinks throughout the day, maybe seeing them in the morning would be wise.

you'll always get people who have no experience or understanding of alcoholism who may attept to make you feel guilty for taking action. you could tackle them a variety of ways but it's important that you don't let their attitude chip away at you. avoid such people until you feel stronger.

if he suddenly declares that he realises that he's an alcoholic, you absolutely can support his recovery (if that's what he chooses) from a distance. he would need treatment though and you must be separate whilst he sees this through, so don't be fobbed off. also if he was physically abusive (you hinted at that earlier in the thread), you shouldn't have him back at all, sober or not.

thumbwitch · 03/07/2009 09:38

TMW, your DSSs will probably want to keep in touch with you anyway - apart from anything else, you are mum to their half-sibs, so if they have a good relationship with your DD and DS, they will still be around.

I hope your H's family back off - there is no reason you should have to defend yourself in this position, beyond saying that they have no idea what your home life was really like and how long you have tried to keep going.

You're being very strong - well done - it's not an easy time.
still more unMNly (((hugs))) for you.

mistlethrush · 03/07/2009 10:00

TMW - so sorry that you're goign through this at the moment.

Your list of things that you want is not remotely unreasonable. It sounds as though your relationship had become one more of mother figure - you were having to sort everything out, and stop the children (inc dh) from arguing etc as well.

Given your relationship with your dss, is there any chance that you might be able to have a meeting with just one of them at a 'safe' place (eg teashop or similar), making it clear that you don't want to be in a situation where 'sides' need to be taken, but that you need them to understand what your life has been like so that they can help support your H to get some help so that he can have a better relationship with your dcs in the future? It depends upon their characters, clearly, but if it could all be about 'helping H' rather than 'what you have to do to get back together' which is clealry not going to happen, perhaps it might be a way forward?

mangopassionfruitshake · 03/07/2009 10:05

Hi Mits, how are you feeling today?

I love your list of things you want, of course you can have all of those things.

You don't have to answer the phone to his entire family, so don't. Just don't pick up.

Thinking of you.

Snorbs · 03/07/2009 10:12

I'm really sorry that you're going through this. Living with an alcoholic downright sucks, but the emotional backlash of splitting up with them can be enormous. I've been there, and done that, and I know how disorienting it all can be

It's great that you're thinking about what you want from life. I'd recommend you also think about that in terms of the things you have control over and/or can influence, and the things that are other people's responsibilities. Him admitting his role in DS's emotional issues is not something you can control or something that is your responsibility. You supporting your DS and helping him to understand that it's not his fault is something that you can do.

One of the big problems in being in a relationship with an alcoholic (apart from the unpredictable roller-coaster ride of calm to drama, peace to chaos) is that the non-alcoholic gets drawn into the alcoholic's problems. It's very easy for us to end up feeling responsible for doing things that we feel will help them to realise the problems their drinking has caused, or for us to make choices that we think will influence their decision to drink again. While that's a very easy trap to fall into, it's massively counter-productive. It means that our attention is on them and their drinking, rather than on us. Al Anon is great for helping us to crow-bar our attention off of the alcoholic and back on to us, where it belongs. Melody Beattie's book "Co-dependency No More" is very good for that, too, although it might be a bit tough reading right now as she doesn't pull any punches.

One of the hardest, but most liberating decisions I made after I split up with my alcoholic ex was to decide that any decisions I made were to be in my interests, and/or my children's interests. If that happened to coincide with my ex's best interests then, great, everyone wins. If those choices unfortunately inconvenienced my ex then, well, so sad, too bad, not my problem.

You will get through this. It will get better for you and your children. Keep your contact with your ex to the absolute minimum and don't bother arguing about who did what to whom, where the blame lies, the what-ifs and but-maybes. The only things you need to talk to your ex about right now are child contact and money. As for justifying yourself to others, the line "I don't wish to talk about this right now" works, especially if you just repeat it in as bored a tone as possible.

You're going to hurt and that's sad but that's just the way it is. You will feel better. You really will. You'll start to notice you have short periods of feeling ok, and then over time those short periods will get longer and more frequent, and then one day you realise you've had a really great day. Your children will be happy and relaxed, and you'll look back at your relationship with your ex and wonder why you stuck it out for so long.

Finally, I'd suggest you read this. It's from an advice column that is, funnily enough, written by an ex-alcoholic. He sums it up very well.

cestlavielife · 03/07/2009 10:21

keep reading to yourself your Thu 02-Jul-09 20:57:20 post - it is brilliant!

and the link snorbs gave is great - i can replace "alcoholic" with "personality disorder" and it fits my ex exactly...

the ppoint is: think about you and your dcs and how much better life can be with him down the road in a separate house.

vacaloca · 03/07/2009 10:22

TMW - only just saw this. I have to say that, considering what an utterly crap situation you are in, and have been for some time, it seems, you are sounding incredibily strong and together.

I love your wish list and I think you should print it out and have it by your bed and go and read it every so often. It's perfectly achievable.

There's a lot of very wise advice on this thread. Come here and rant as much as you need to and listen to their advice, please. This could be a clean break for you and your DC. Concentrate on them and on YOURSELF.

When you feel strong enough, go down to CAB to get help with your finances. Can you parents or any friend help you out with that too? Stay strong.

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 10:29

dss's are being very understanding,

from what I can gather H has just been reitterating how much he loves me and that he wants us to be back together as a family, and I have been asked if I realise how unhappy he is.

He doesn't as of yet really recognise that his own behaviour has been such a big part of us getting to this point, about the physical aspect, he said it had only happened a small number of times. Whatever he feels in his head about it, he isn't expressing any realisation of how bad it was.

i hear the tone of voice that he uses with DS and wince, but he doesn't feel it is all that inappropriate.

Although obviously not living with them, he was an outstanding Dad to his other sons.... it was one of the things that made him so different. Perhaps sadly, it was being in that position that made him such a good dad.

But this is here and now with two young DC's who deserve better from life than they have been getting.

it is our wedding anniversary.......

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mangopassionfruitshake · 03/07/2009 10:38

Sorry, Mits. Not going to be the easiest day, is it?

"from what I can gather H has just been reitterating how much he loves me and that he wants us to be back together as a family, and I have been asked if I realise how unhappy he is."

This stuff, though... you have to stop listening to crap like this. You're being emotionally blackmailed. You could possibly respond by saying, "Do you realise how unhappy I have been for the last x years? Do you realise how unhappy our children have been for the last x years?"

But I think probably wiser, given how much else you have to deal with right now, to limit contact with any & all members of his family who say things like this to you. Not forever, just until everyone accepts that the relationship is over.

cestlavielife · 03/07/2009 11:00

"H has just been reitterating how much he loves me and that he wants us to be back together as a family, "

ouch - familiar...

of course he wants that, makes it all easy for him, wont have to face up to issues...

agree to stick to limiting contact.

if you say: ""Do you realise how unhappy I have been for the last x years? Do you realise how unhappy our children have been for the last x years?" " he wil probably turn it back on you and say "but you never told me!" (however much you did tell him)

best not to talk a all. only on specific arrangements re: finance or supervised contact with kids. (supervised by his family if you happy with that)

SolidGoldBrass · 03/07/2009 11:22

DOn't engage.
DO't engage.
Don;t engage,
Remember, what he means by 'I love you and want to come home' is 'I want my dinner cooked, my washing done and my dick sucked, in return for which I will pretend that I am going to get help but waaaah, it's so hard, you have to support me, meeee meee meeeeee!'

thumbwitch · 03/07/2009 12:38

agree with the others TMW - he isn't going to realise that he has done anything "that bad" - he probably doesnt think his drinking is "that bad" either, so while he's living this self-delusional life, nothing you say will have any impact on his delusions, because to accept one truth, he has to accept the others as well and he doesn't seem to be ready to do that.

So, as SGB says - Don't engage. Step away from his blather, it's not "real" because it's coming from a delusional position.

Sucks that this is your anniversary as well though

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 13:18

Social services have said that he is not allowed to come home, the decision is out of my hands.

It doesn't get much worse than this does it?

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vacaloca · 03/07/2009 13:26

How did that happen? Well, in a way perhaps it's good that it's out of your hands, although I bed it doesn't feel that good. What a shitty time TMW. Wishing you strenght and determination. You will be okay.

TooTicky · 03/07/2009 13:41

Mits, perhaps it will make things a little easier if it is out of your hands...?

{{{{{{{{very big hugs}}}}}}}}

TooTicky · 03/07/2009 13:50

That is not to say that it doesn't feel really shitty right now.

Nuther hug {{{}}}

TheMitsubishiWarrioress · 03/07/2009 14:13

His mum rang in a state to say she didn't know where he was, why hadn't we sent him a birthday card, and some other stuff.

When I spoke to him to tell him what SS had said and that his mum was worried, she knew exactly where he was because he was out shopping for her..(she does not have dementia or anything).

Vacaloca, this is an ongoing thing and I have to report to social servces from time to time as he is (DS) is an existing case...

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