Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

How do I STOP allowing myself to be controlled?

118 replies

QwikNameChange · 23/12/2009 08:47

I have come to the conclusion that DP DOES control me.

The way I see it, I have two options. Either show that I won't be controlled anymore or leave.

I want to try the first one first.

So i need some help. How do I get OUT of the habit of allowing him to control me?

Take this scenario ...

Its bitterly cold outside and my skin is suffering. I decide to apply body butter to myself. DP comes into the bedroom and moans that I'm putting it on as its "his job". He then accusses me of being in a mood with him about something and sulks. If I snap here, he will make out that he was joking and I'm being too sensitive but I've just realised I have not applied moisturiser to my skin for over three weeks because I'm too worried about being "caught" doing it myself. How stupid is that? So please suggest a diplomatic 'smiley face' way of dealing with this one...?

Another scenario ...

DS asks if he can have a packet of monster munch. I will automatically stop at this point and wonder if DP would allow me to get him some. I've now realised I have as much right to this shit as he does!!! So ... if I was to get the Monster Munch without his permision, he would moan. How to handle?

Lastly ...

He's at work and I've been busy all day with housework and childcare. He comes home from work and says "will you learn to shut these blinds? people can see in!" Diplomatic response?

I know alot of you would just tell him to fuck off but I don't want him to have an excuse of saying I am the one being unreasonable. If I'm all nice and respectful, I can't possibly get the blame!!

Oh, and another one is that I'm not "allowed" to go to bed before him. If I go at 8pm, he will come too. If he wants to go to bed early and I don't, he will moan and whinge until I agree to go early too. He will actually hang around me so I can't possibly stay up!

I realise its all ridiculous, I want to act on it now.

OP posts:
coolbeans · 23/12/2009 10:34

It can be tackled ? it is hard work, though. And it depends on whether you think the relationship is worth it in other regards.

My dh has elements of this in his behaviour ? I?ve pretty much stamped it out, but not going to lie, it really is quite difficult and you have to decide if it is worth putting the effort and time in and if your dh can actually change. I also knew that my dh was behaving badly, but had issues with his own self esteem which he covered up by having to control every little thing, including me.
The first step is to recognise what he?s doing - you?ve taken that step one that bit. That?s good.

The next step is to change how you respond to it. This is the difficult bit, because you?ve let him get away with this behaviour (not a criticism, btw) and now he will escalate being a dick until he learns that you?re not going to put up with anymore.

You have to learn how to assert yourself and get him to respect your boundaries. I think it?s also important to acknowledge one?s own part in the pattern of behaviour. My dh took little steps, which I ignored or put up with or glossed over, until I woke up one day and found that I was thinking more and more about not doing things because I couldn?t handle the fallout.

He used to hate me going out with my friends. Sulking to try and get me not to go, cold shoulder when I got in, texts through the night to figure out what I was up to. He was also stupidly jealous and would accuse of the most ridiculous things, just being an absolute fuckwit. Or he would sulk because he wanted me to wear one dress and I would choose another, or he would act all hurt that I chose a different dish in a restaurant to his, but I should ?trust? him. God! I bent over backwards to prove I was trustworthy, until I hit a big light bulb moment, when I realised it wasn?t actually about me. It was all his problem, not mine.

So I just stopped engaging with it. Jealousy was met with a coolly delivered, ?that?s insulting and annoys me and I?m not prepared to listen to it.? and I would walk away. Or in a restaurant, ?I?m ordering that, because I like it. Why would you want me to choose something I don?t want to eat??. I picked him up and pointed out whenever he was doing something controlling, not in a aggressive way, but in a puzzled ?why are you being so unreasonable? way. If he got all angry and defensive, I understood that the anger was also a form of control, he wanted the conversation to stop and not be discussed any further. So I would step away, but crucially, always come back to it, so he knew he wasn?t getting away with it.

I was also having counselling, so had a back up to show me that I was doing the right thing. And for me, it worked. But dh is fundamentally a good bloke, so that affected the outcome. Counselling for yourself might be a good move to see how you got where you are and if you want to change things.

midori1999 · 23/12/2009 10:40

The reason men conduct this sort of behaviour (IMO) is that it works. They are shaping your behaviour. They are insecure, terrified you will leave them and their behaviour has the desired effect, so of course they continue to behave that way.

Re the going out with friends thing. You want to go out. he doesn't want to be seen openly as controlling you, so he ays to go, but then afterwards, he makes your life such a misery, you no longer wish to go out, as it's 'not worth the hassle'. So, his behaviour 'worked' and he keeps it up. However, if you ignored him, an din fact, the more he moaned/gave you a hard time, the more you went out, he would soon realise his behaviour was counter-productive and he may well stop it.

I have a friend who has been/was in an EA relationship for 17 years. She quiety put up with it, not even realising what her husband was really like (he would do 'inspections' when he got in from work, to make sure the house was tidy, nag her if she went out with friends, make comments about her wieght etc, and tbh, half the time I don't think he even realised what he was like!). In the end, she had a breakdown and had an affair, because someone came along and made her feel good about herself. They are still together, but she is having counselling, and things are slowly changing. Her (idiot!) husband remains the same, however, the difference is, she will nto allow him to control her and within what is reasonable, does whats he wants. She has also gotherself a job and is getting her confidence back.

Forthebest · 23/12/2009 10:44

Oh you are living MY life. Its almost a relief to meet someone else.

My OH is exactly like this. I am juts trying to get through xmas and then I am making plans to end this. I CAN NOT live like this any more.

I get the " go out of you want, IM not stopping you " comments but OMG the fall out afterwards. I have actually been SNIFFED after a night out and told I " smell funny " to make me nervous.

He does the sex comments too. Asking me what I want for christmas and then suggesting all sorts of underwear I wouldnt be seen dead in. He then gets annoyed and acts offended when I decline. He wants sex every day and if I dont he will accus eme of being cold, miserable etc. he will actually sulk and pout until it happens again.

Yesterday we had chicken for dinner and it was slightly greasy, he was smacking his lips in the kitchen and rubbing himself against me saying " oooh do you like my greasy lips you dirty girl " I can honestly say at that moment I knew we were so over. He made me feel ill.

He also uses emotional blackmail to control me. Makes me feel bad about stuff until I give in. Wants me to cuddle him all the time, even ignoring the children.

I need to get out so badly. I am more scared of spending another year with him anf feeling like this next xmas. I need to find the strength. I hope yuo do too. Surely we deserve to eat a packet of damn crisps without this shit !!

msrisotto · 23/12/2009 10:50

Forthebest - that comment he made is vile, words cannot quite express.

Iklboodolphtherednosereindeer · 23/12/2009 10:56

I want to add though that DH is the absolute polar opposite and has worked hard on helping me rebuild my self-esteem, he's always encouraging & supportive. There are wonderful men out there

cheerfulvicky · 23/12/2009 10:57

I'm going to break with tradition here and say it depends on the person, on the man in question. Before I met DP I was with a real headcase for about 3 months. I had a very, very lucky escape from this man. He was an extremely nasty piece of work. He was also funny, charming and charismatic.
For him, control was central to the relationship. He really couldn't feel okay unless I was under his thumb. It didn't really matter what he DID, it was the underlying intention that mattered to him, which was to crush me. I was crushed emotionally by him for things such as mentioning another man, expressing an opinion on something (I was always wrong and needed to be shown that I was wrong and he was wiser and cleverer than me) or suspecting him when he stayed over at his female friends flat. (I was probably cheating on him, if the thought of cheating was in my mind: if I wondered whether he was cheating, it must mean that I was, in fact, cheating on him). He was insecure, jealous, hated the whole world and really deep down hated himself. Once he broke down and cried in front of me, saying that he was a bad father to his son, who he hadn't seen for years. I didn't know what to say, because I agreed...
He emailed me again recently, out of the blue. It's been three years. He's still trying to reestablish control, he wants back the hypnotic hold he had over me that robbed me of all the self esteem I previously had. Happily, I'm smarter and much of it is thanks to MN. I won't be falling for his tricks again.

In contrast to that; my current partner can be very controlling at times, but it stems from a different place. He has been told he is almost certainly dyslexic, maybe severely, and is waiting for a full assessment in the new year. We wonder if he may have aspergers but are not sure. For him, when things are out of place or breaking from the standard practice, whatever that is, he gets very agitated and snappy. I've understood over time that this is from fear and worry, and can result in him - for example - avoiding going to the supermarket because he can't bear the thought of the crowds. I used to go along with this, but since I moved out for a month (and as a result, he knows I can and will do this again if need be) I am taking a firmer line with him. It is having a snowball effect, I am getting more and more confident and he is learning that he can't impose his ways on me just because certain things make him really really anxious. I have insisted that we drive to Asda, for example, but suggested he wait in the car if he feels the need, so he only need to drive us into the carpark and get anal and uptight about that. I also find doing the shopping is much quicker without him fussing about with the list trying to work out the most efficient, orderly way of doing things

I know this is really long winded, but the point is, my current partner and I really love each other. We squabble but I now give as good as I get, and we let the little disagreements stay in their place and not ferment or lead to bitterness. My previous boyfriend didn't love me, in fact I don't know that he ever loved anyone, he had a shite childhood and probably never learned how. Regardless, his behaviour was awful and stemmed from a very black, horrible place. I'm so glad I got away from him when I did, it took me a long time to get over that. It probably led to me putting up with current DP's silly faffing for much longer, because I didn't have the self confidence to say "Stop being a silly arse, you're being daft again" etc.

Only you know which of these you have. There are probably more types than this: the lazy bloke who will let you fetch and carry for him endlessly, but isn't abusive, only opportunistic, and will reluctantly haul his arse off the sofa if you tell it to him straight. The nasty, violent man who is an oscar winning performer and manages to keep a lid on his temper - mostly.
From what you have said, I would be inclined to think that your man is controlling you through a sense of ownership, a feeling that men are better than women and therefore he can treat you as a 2nd class person.

However, it's hard to tell. You may reach a place where you don't care WHY, you just want out. But if you want, you can try and assert yourself. As a general rule you need to do it consistently, and give the impression that you've snapped and are not putting up with any more shit. The man needs to see what will happen if he continues to treat you badly, i.e you will leave. This will usually bring out the deeper reasons behind his behaviour. I would warn you to be careful though, because if you are unlucky enough to be with a controlling, abusive git, he will probably get nasty when he senses you regaining control of your life. So only you can decide what to do, but please be careful.
x

tiredoftherain · 23/12/2009 10:58

This was my life too! H sulked if I didn't indulge his every whim, did exactly what he pleased, napped every weekend afternoon for hours but if I ever even wanted half an hour to do anything for me, I was "mean", I didn't want "family time" etc etc. It was all "go on, if you have to then".. or I suppose so" He maintained a sour expression throughout. I once remember him sulking for an entire afternoon because I'd been driving, and refused to overtake a queue of traffic behind a stationary bus. Would have been so dangerous but he insisted I do it. He was a nightmare driver.

So very very wearing. He started to make me feel physically ill too. He used to pick his nose and ears, eat the contents and then try to slobber over me. urrrrrrrrrgh. So glad he's someone else's problem now!!

I do think we should brand these men when we leave them to stop them going on to do the same to other people.

Forthebest · 23/12/2009 11:02

I KNOW its vile ! Its all the time now as well ! I have posted before asking advice and I know I have to get him to leave in the new year. he is very controlling and at the moment is focusing on sex. He wants us to be doing it ALL the time . He makes suggestive ( vile ) comments and then wonders why I am not turned on !!!

The other night he did a lot of housework and made a point of phoning me at work to tell me what he had done and how he wanted to be rewarded for it ! I cant cope with it anymore. Its constant pressure, pressure, pressure and if sex doesnt happen god help me !

He will even sleep in at the weekends till 11/12 o 'clock ( even though he doesnt work ) and call me upstairs for a " cuddle " . I have tried and tried explaining that the girls are downstaoirs and I am not leaving them but he then says " I only wanted a cuddle not sex !!! Yuo are so cold etc "

God I can't cope. I am dreading the xmas holidays and thats so sad

Tortington · 23/12/2009 11:08

PLEASE PLEASE go to relate.

how would it sound if you said in front of a stranger

"dp won't let me put my own moisturiser on"

think about that a second.

its insane, its wildly insane.

now,

i have had a long relationship and dh and i ae in a great place at the moment, but there was a period where dh was so stressed and seemed to be always angry, that i became obsessed over how i cooked his tea - was there enough of it? he will shout if there isn't - oh god how can i manage this situation before the inevitable anger?

and thats what i did for 2 years - i managed myself, so that i didn't provoke his anger.

how shit is that. here i am custy the "oh fuck off and die" queen, managing the minutae of everyday life so i didn't upset dh and make him angry.
if he asked me a question - i stuttered - not a sssssstutter but a um um um ah err well i er i erm oh erm...this was to give myself time to process my answer - do a quick run though at light speed in my head -to assess which was the best answer to give to any question asked.

say these things in front of a stranger, and it all sounds INSANE

MrsMorgan · 23/12/2009 11:12

Another one here with a very similar ex. I didn't feel controlled wrt to a anything to do with the dc or the house particularly, but definatly with sex and with me going out.

He would nag and nag and nag me for sex, and also wake me in the night several times trying it on. He would also make crude commenst all day long.

As far as going out went, I gave up on it because it caused too much hassle. He would be fine about me going right up until the actual night and then he'd go mental, hiding my bank card and threatening to go out so that I couldn't.

Oh and he also used to check what underwear I wore to work, because in his opinion, i should only wear nice underwear for him.

MrsMorgan · 23/12/2009 11:14

It will wear you down to the point of not wanting to wake up tbh, and for that reason you have to do something about it.

Forthebest · 23/12/2009 11:15

I do that too. I think as quick as I can about the answer that I give. Will he get annoyed etc ?

He questions me on everything. If he pops out in the evening he tells me he isnt expecting anyone so dont bother answering the door if it goes and he LOCKS the door ! He says it is for my safety ?

he also asks what I have been doing, even if he just goes to the shops for 5 mins. He wants to know what I say to my sister on the phone and he phones me at work at lunctime to make sure I am at my desk and not " out " with someone.

MrsMorgan · 23/12/2009 11:18

He locks you in ???

Forthebest · 23/12/2009 11:19

OMG I have the underwear thing too !! He checks every now and then. he will " hug " me and put his fingers near my waist band and pull the trousers out and say something suggestive but I know what he is looking at really.

He also found a receipt once in the bin for some very plain M&S pants I bought. I hadnt mentioned it to him and he got the receipt and left it really obviously on the kitchen side. He then asked me why I was buying pants when he had offered to buy me some and I refused. He offered to buy me hideous black lacy thong things.
He says most women would be grateful at how much attention he gives me and how often he wnats to have sex with me etc. He says I am the abnormal/cold one and I am ruining the realtionship. How do you go about explaining its not appropriate. he just sulks and tells me im not normal.

YOu guys are making me feel so much better. Those who have left HOW did you find the strength ?

Forthebest · 23/12/2009 11:21

He does lock me in. I have a key obviously, I could unlock it if there was fire etc. But he doesnt want me answering the door !!

Its part of his paranoia and its so draining. I feel stupid posting all this.

RumourOfAHurricane · 23/12/2009 11:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Alambil · 23/12/2009 11:29

If locking you in is for safety, how the hell would you get out in a fire??!!!

My ex used to lock me in, raped me (started as the OP), verbally attacked me at every opportunity... and when DS was 6m old he tried to throw me out of his car at 70 miles per hour at 11pm one night in the middle of nowhere.

We got to our destination, I tried to get DS's carseat out and he punched me from the front seat. The nurse said I'd be blind in one eye if he'd been punching straight.

I rang my parents that night and they rescued me.

It will get worse - it'll take months, years maybe, but it WILL get worse.

Get out now whilst you have your sensibilities about you

Alambil · 23/12/2009 11:30

x posted with the "I have a key" post - but it is still dangerous territory

RumourOfAHurricane · 23/12/2009 11:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

mrshidden · 23/12/2009 11:35

He does sound controlling, not sure how easy it would be to change him, or how possible.

Mine says I can go out and and actively encourages me, but also makes flippant comments about 'my fancy man' and questions if I appear to making effort in my appearance.

Has also said he encourages me to see and have a relationship with my family, but criticises them constantly about their characters and appearance. Will also become very sarcastic if I say anything positive about them or jump tio their defence.

How about gifts? I find it frustrating as I feel they are things he thinks I ought to like or wear.

He will also make snurky comments about my appearance, but will protest it was a 'joke' and say how beautiful 'I know' he thinks I am if I get upset and challenge him.

Anniegetyourgun · 23/12/2009 12:19

Me too, me too! The underwear thing, the going out thing, the body shape comments (he'd buy stacks and stacks of chocolate at the supermarket, stick it under my nose at every opportunity, then tell me how fat I was... and just like Mrshidden's H, he would switch to flattery/affection when challenged). He says he never stopped me going out, but it usually ended up not being worth the fallout if I did. Accusations of infidelity on a daily basis, of course, especially if I missed a train home - who knows what I could have got up to in that missing 20 minutes?! (Other than standing, either too cold or too hot, on a busy platform, with sore feet and an aching back, longing for a cup of tea...)

Unlike most of the examples here, he didn't criticise my housework because he actually likes things as chaotic as possible. So if he had a grumble, it was about too much tidying up, and heaven help me if I threw anything away - including actual rubbish sometimes (he had a very good reason why he needed to keep all those cardboard boxes, for his work in the garage, but when I said why not keep them in the garage instead of all over the kitchen he said "don't be silly").

He would never FORCE sex on me, but if I didn't give in the sulks were unbelievable.
He'd even do it when the kids were in the room sometimes. There was no privacy; our bedroom effectively became the sitting room, because the only working telly was in there and the lounge chairs were covered with Stuff which he was in the process of sorting out (for five years...) The bedroom key mysteriously went missing. And once he jumped me when I had the 'flu and was too weak to say no. Conversely, if I initiated anything, he would tend to lie there like a log so I had no idea whether what I was doing was having any effect at all, then more often than not would say "it's far too late for anything like that, you've got work in the morning, I'm only thinking of you", and turn over. But if I hadn't initiated anything for a while, I was "never interested", so I couldn't win; which of course was the point.

It did gradually escalate over the years, although it never turned to violence (on his part!) and I don't believe it ever would. The nearest he got was the night I snapped, smashed some plates and started to throw things at him, stopped myself, hugged and apologised to the kids, packed an overnight bag and left the house. He was too passive-aggressive to stop me (I don't believe he was afraid of me, he is not afraid of pain or anything physical), but he did insist on taking his glasses etc out of the car, reaching across me to do so, ugh ugh ugh, as he said I couldn't be trusted not to throw and break them. When I came back, after a couple of days at my brother's followed by a previously booked counselling session, the only thing he said (after a couple of days) was that he had checked out the legal position and if I broke anything else around the house it would be criminal damage and the police would remove me. Which was of course nonsense, so I ignored it. Oh, and he had changed the padlock on the front gate, but I just had to park the car outside and climb over, no problem, done it before when he'd gone out unexpectedly. The house key still worked. Mind you he wouldn't have wanted to lock me out really, as I might have stopped paying the bills...

So where did I get the strength? I think I always had it, but didn't realise I had it, and it was his purpose in life to see I didn't find out. One day he shot himself in the foot by telling his sister we were getting divorced so that I could go and live with another man, and outlined such a viable scenario for separate accommodation and childcare that I felt a sudden wonderful sense of the possible - yes, it really could work, I don't have to put up with all this until the last child has grown up. Of course he didn't mean it, but I had seen the light. Except for the other man thing - can't be bothered with that.

It took another two years to get the divorce finalised and the house sold, but in the meantime I reclaimed my space by throwing him out of the bedroom, closely followed by the telly. I couldn't find the key but I did keep the door shut, which was a great relief after four sons of various ages used to wander in and out while I was stood on one foot trying to put my pants on. I suddenly realised it was perfectly reasonable to have my own space. What I don't understand is why it took so long.

Anniegetyourgun · 23/12/2009 12:27

When I say "throwing him out of the bedroom", I don't mean physically of course, I just told him firmly that he didn't sleep there any more. He said he didn't want to sleep with me anyway because he thought I had been beating him up in the night and one of his ribs was so sore it might be broken and I'd poked him in the eye. This was absolute nonsense, although I can't say it didn't have a certain appeal in theory. (I'd actually given myself a bad back by hanging out of the bed on the other side, trying to get as far away from him as possible. Touch him in the night? Not with a bargepole.) Likewise with the telly, I told him it was to be moved out, and he did it. He may have read the full manual on emotional abuse, but he was not really all that good at it...

Anniegetyourgun · 23/12/2009 12:28

Oh and Mrshidden - he used to say "fancy man" too. Spooky.

coolbeans · 23/12/2009 12:38

Also I would also suggest that if you want to stop being controlled, or getting into relationships with these types, then you really, really, really need to understand why it happens to you in the first place.

Not in a "this is my fault" way, but in a "how can I make sure this doesn't happen again", way.

There are usually big red flags all over the place and they should be acknowledged and acted upon.

It's not enough to see the behaviour, you have to be able to walk away or deal with it.

Otherwise, if you do leave, you might just end up with another one.

Malificence · 23/12/2009 12:39

I'm absolutely aghast at the behaviour of these mental men!

Hoping that the new year gives all you ladies the strength to do what needs to be done.

Swipe left for the next trending thread