abusive relationship/advice

Nurses General Nursing

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I am in a mentally abusive relationship. I am 22, have 2 kids and i'm trying to make it through school. It is getting so tough. I don't know where to begin telling you how awful he is. He is very short tempered. Sometimes he will scream at our babies when they are "getting on his nerves". He constantly tries to control me. Always asks me questions, will look at all the places i've been looking at on the internet, smells my breath when I get home from school at night, asks me what we talked about in class as if quizzing me to make sure I was really there. He is awful. He has NO reason to do these things to me I have never done him wrong infact, he has done me wrong many many times. Cheated on me when I was pregnant I know of 3 different girls and those are just the ones i found out about, who knows how many more. And I say girls because they were all around 15. He is 25. He is disgusting. He also smokes pot and the only reason I haven't made him quit is because he is so much worse when he doesn't have it. I am sorry I am posting this on here but I need advice, no one in my family wants to talk to me about it because they don't know what to tell me. I never wanted to get a divorce because I wanted to be one of the few couples who stay together because I was 3 when my parents divorced and I was so saddened by that. I can't stand the thought of my children feeling like I did. I want him to get help but he is so unwilling. I have mentioned us going to church but he tells me his opinions of it and tries to make me feel like he does. I was raised catholic, but I am ridiculed by him if I try to talk about my beliefs he puts down the church. That is just an example, he also did this over my friends, which I don't have anymore. Anyone I look at when we are out he will make a joke about them. He is so evil.

has anyone been here? what did you do? Is there any helping him?

It is a lot easier for me to stay with him until I get out of school and am on my feet. What do you think about this?

Specializes in med-surg.

Just be careful with the counseling route - couples counseling in DV can be very dangerous. He probably doesn't want to be there to begin with. Plus, you will be disclosing his dirty little secrets to someone else. He'll know exactly what you've said about him and may decide to take it out on you or the kids when you get back behind closed doors.

Quote: I disagree with the previous post though about him being a pedophile -- because someone is abusive doesn't make him a pedophile! My ex-husband was very controlling and abusive, but he was NOT a pedophile!

He's a pedophile because he plays around with underage girls-that does make him a pedophile.

You need to get a restraining order & leave him.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
I understand what you are saying but I am so scared to do this because it is going to be ugly.

It is ugly NOW.

I'm going to answer this in two perspectives. One will be from a child's POV, other an adults. I've been in both.

I have not spoken to my mother in over 10 years, as far as i'm concerned, she is dead to me, which is fine because she never gave a crap about anyone but herself. After my parents divorced, my mom dated any loser you can think of. Physically abusive, mentally, emotionally, and all of that happened to me and then some. I HAD no choice as a child, i was STUCK with it until i was able to decide for myself where i could live, but till then i had 6 years to endure. And thanks to that, i will never speak to her again after the crap i went through, and the YEARS it took to be able to live a normal healthy life from the damage her decisions caused.

As an adult, i dated a man, who i thought was kidding turns out not, who told me i was ugly, fat, you name it, and i was 5'8" 105 lbs at the time. He yelled, screamed, put me down, accused me of cheating. That lasted a week. I would not say i was a strong person then, but i also knew that was wrong, it was unhealthy, and right then it was just WORDS, and that i had no clue when it would be fists, or a gun.

And if there's ONE thing i've learned from cheating b*******, 1) they don't trust YOU because it was so EASY for them to cheat 2) anyone who's suspicious of your actions, there's good reason to be suspicious of THEIRS.

No, it is never easy to leave someone, but, well, nevermind, i shouldn't say it, except that "it would be easier for school" is a poor excuse to stay with him.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

NEVER stay with someone "because of the children". You're not fooling anyone by doing that, even the children.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
What makes them treat us like that?

Probably not going to like this answer, but he does it because he's getting away with it. He'll continue to do it because he can.

To actually stop it, probably will never happen, unless you leave it.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
She called him a pedophile because I mentioned that he cheated on me with 15 year olds. He was actually 21 at the time, which doesn't make it any better but that is what she was saying.

I keep thinking this over in my mind.. and I keep catching myself making excuses for him "well he only does that SOMEtimes.. I don't think he's cheated on me since 3 years ago.. He's older now and not that stupid.. He doesn't smoke THAT much" What am I doing?? I am trying to make it not sound so bad to myself like I've been doing for years I need to get the strength to see him as a bad person that he is. And when I try to tell him all the things he does he confuses me. he so good at that. He makes me believe I am making things up. Sometimes I actually get so confused by it all that I wonder. He is so manipulative.

I know I WANT to be happier, believe me I do. I just need to hear it from people who know what I am talking about because as I said before, my family wont talk to me about. My mom has actually told me to stick it out. She has no idea.

OMG, I think you are married to my husband's clone. Mine is the same way. He is MANIPULATIVE. He and I are not together now and it took God sending me to Memphis to get away from him and I couldn't be more grateful. I got into nursing school there and I live in Murfreesboro so I have to move. I have a suggestion. Write down all the lies he has told you and all the times he has hurt you, yelled etc and keep it with you. The next time he tries to "confuse you" think about what that paper says. Better than that, LEAVE HIM! Don't tell him you are going, just play his game for a while keep the peace and then when you get some money together just leave without a word. Why? Because he will try to make it seem like you are crazy and that it's all your fault and he will try to talk you out of it--and he'll win. You end up staying and the whole cycle starts over. The longer you are away the better you will feel. At first it will be hard, but after a while you will start to feel better. It could take a day, a week, a month, but it will get better.

He is not going to change unless HE sees he is doing something wrong. It takes a person becoming very uncomfortable and miserable for them to change bad behavior. Trust me, he doesn't think he is doing wrong or he'd not be treating you and the kids this way. Please PM me. I bet your husband and mine are very much alike. I'll be praying for you.

Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

I cannot answer why he does it. My mind does not function like this. Just as I cannot tell you why people lie, steal, rape, do drugs.

Counseling will probably not help because he sees nothing wrong with the way that he bahaves.

I tried counseling also. He just felt like the counselor was picking on him because she was female.

People can rationalize anything to make it sound right no matter how wrong it is.

Be safe, keep your babies safe and get out.

To lesrn, I just want to clarify. I called this person a pedophile because he has sex with 15 year old girls, not because he is an as* hole.

Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

I have gone through exactly what you are talking about except I had one child and my husband was physicaly abusive as well. People can tell you left and right to get out and leave but I know it is not that easy. There is nothing like the fear of the unknown when your facing a man like that and his temper. I lived with it for years and was reduced to cow poop , he convinced me I was ugly, fat and no one else would put up with my crap...He put a gun to my head and told me he would pull the trigger if I didnt agree to marry him, so brainwashed me did it. I had a 6-week old little girl that he yanked out of my arms and said he would throw her down and kill her If I didnt give in to whatever junk he was demanding at the time. He would leave her alone crying in the house while I was working as a CNA for $4.35/hr so he could sleep with whowever , then call me and say "ohh you daughter is at home by herself crying you better go get her". He set our house on fire and tried to kill me and our daughter but I guess felt guilty because when half of the house was burned down and the fire was spreading rapidly he came back in woke me up saying in a very sadistic/demonic voice.."you need to get up ..the house is on fire". Got out with the clothes on my back. I could go on and on... My point is I have been there. I only got out because a man I worked with figured out what was going on and stood up for me. Then gave me a place to live and the means to get a divorce. When my ex-husband came around this man came and made him leave. My husband eventually killed himself and even though it was sad for his family it was a blessing for me and my daughter. We were free and we were able to live again. There is no way you can focus on school and him at the same time. So my advise to you is put school off and work on getting out. You need to either put money aside little by little or gain accesss to his accounts. I had planned to wipe out my husbands accounts and leave the state only to have a protective and divorce papers served the same day. No matter how you go it will be hard and he will threaten you. There is no guareentee that he will get custody.. why should he? Things dont work like that. Courts hate to exclude a willing parent unless there is good cause. The one thing I worried about was giving my husband visitation and he taking off with my daughter. So I had supervised visitaion which didnt work because he attacked me and we spent our last visitations in the police station. You dont want your daughters learning from you that it is ok to be in a situation like that and you dont want to show them a man can break down and control your confidence. This is not anything that will happen over night. I would start with stashing money whether it be out in the back yard, hiding it under the house or having an account in your name and sending the statements to another address. I would get with the local womens shelter they can give you the number to lawyers that do pro-bono work ( helpd low income families with legal issues) and you can see if you can get some help there. I got divorced like this through west texas legal services. I did spend some time in a womens shelter as well, that was a gift. They fed me and my children helped us get clothes and it is in a secure location so the chances of him finding you would be small. If you chose to just leave I would move to a nearby city only because if you have children in school he could pull them out and take off. So when I registered them i would never list the fathers name. If he did find their school and tried to take them the school would call you and you could pick them up before he could produce the paperwork needed to prove who he was. Im not trying to put ideas in your head;I just want you to realize things you could be facing. It will be the hardest thing you have ever done and you will feel like going back is easier especially when he starts putting on the pressure and starts threatening you. It will be his only defence to tell you things to scare you.. know this, it will happen. Once it is all over your life will change and you will feel free and you can raise your children to be confident and non dependent. I am here if you need to talk, rant or rave. Good luck to you....

My husband and sons would beat the living daylights out of any cretin who treated our daughter this way and I am dead serious.

Can you not enlist the help of family?

Please, find a way to leave - use the resourses given by other posters.

steph

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
It is ugly NOW.

I'm going to answer this in two perspectives. One will be from a child's POV, other an adults. I've been in both.

I have not spoken to my mother in over 10 years, as far as i'm concerned, she is dead to me, which is fine because she never gave a crap about anyone but herself. After my parents divorced, my mom dated any loser you can think of. Physically abusive, mentally, emotionally, and all of that happened to me and then some. I HAD no choice as a child, i was STUCK with it until i was able to decide for myself where i could live, but till then i had 6 years to endure. And thanks to that, i will never speak to her again after the crap i went through, and the YEARS it took to be able to live a normal healthy life from the damage her decisions caused.

As an adult, i dated a man, who i thought was kidding turns out not, who told me i was ugly, fat, you name it, and i was 5'8" 105 lbs at the time. He yelled, screamed, put me down, accused me of cheating. That lasted a week. I would not say i was a strong person then, but i also knew that was wrong, it was unhealthy, and right then it was just WORDS, and that i had no clue when it would be fists, or a gun.

And if there's ONE thing i've learned from cheating b*******, 1) they don't trust YOU because it was so EASY for them to cheat 2) anyone who's suspicious of your actions, there's good reason to be suspicious of THEIRS.

No, it is never easy to leave someone, but, well, nevermind, i shouldn't say it, except that "it would be easier for school" is a poor excuse to stay with him.

On this note, my husband got caught cheating on me and when I appraoched him, he put up a smoke screen and said I was cheating on him. Now, I was talking to some guy outside that was visiting our upstairs neighbors. Just talking. This person leaves and I never see them again. A month goes by and since my husband had been acting strange I did a little investigating. I was a volunteer at a hospital and my husband rode to Nashville with me claiming he wanted to see his mother. We took our children with us and he drops me off. I'm there for two hours and when he gets back he doesn't have the kids. He claims he left them at his mom's and he went to the mall. Now, didn't he say he wanted to see his mom? Not only that, he just said he was at the mall and not with a person so I can't check up on him because he knew I would because the situation was suspect. Anyway, like I said he was acting funny after that--no affection, no kisses, no sex. So, I look in his instant messenger account and I find conversations between him and some woman. They are talking a bout the lack of use of condoms, the fear of pregnancy, AIDS all this crap and I KNEW thry had sex. So, I ask him, did he have sex with someone on the day he dropped me off at the hospital. He says no. I ask him why the IM is for the day AFTER I went to the hospital and why she says he left in a hurry. He still denies it. I smacked him and asked him again. He finally says all that happened was she performed oral on him and he played with her you know what. He wa sstill lying because if that was all then why did she say something about being afraid she was pregnant? So, I rephrased the queston and asked him did he ever have intercourse with her.

He still says no. At this point I just leave. he didn't even admit this until two months later. He actually tried to make me feel bad because he claimed he knew for a fact that I slept with the guy I talked to on the porch. He never even asked me about that. I had to get his number from my neighbor and have him call himto prove I never been with this person. So, yes, if someone is accusing you, it's probably them who is truly guilty. That's not the only story I have. All I can say is I'm glad I saw that light and that nightmare is over.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
I cannot answer why he does it. My mind does not function like this. Just as I cannot tell you why people lie, steal, rape, do drugs.

Counseling will probably not help because he sees nothing wrong with the way that he bahaves.

I tried counseling also. He just felt like the counselor was picking on him because she was female.

People can rationalize anything to make it sound right no matter how wrong it is.

Be safe, keep your babies safe and get out.

To lesrn, I just want to clarify. I called this person a pedophile because he has sex with 15 year old girls, not because he is an as* hole.

I went to counseling over my husband and the woman didn't even want to talk to him because she knew he was manipulative and that he would just try to justify his actions. Actually we went twice. In 2002 we went together and when I told the counselor that I came home at 3:00 am from work at a nursing home and caught him sitting on the couch with another woman. My husband saw nothing wrong with this. The counselor told me on a visit we had alone that I should just leave him.

He sees nothing wrong with his actions and never will. I used to ask myself how can you not know that's wrong, but some people have no conscience.

I know where you are coming from. I don't know if this will help, but I'll tell you my experience. I was 22 when I married my first husband. He was 16 years older and had 5 children. Things were ok for a while but then he slowly started keeping me from seeing my family. Nothing physical, but he would make it clear if I visited family, it was taking away from our time together. Basically, he was jelous of every relationship I had.

3 years into our marriage, I was told I was infertile. I ended up adopting a wonderful boy from Romania. He was 6 at the time. My hubby never bonded with this boy, was verbally abusive and I suspect in hindsight physically abusive as well although my boy never said anything and I never witnessed anything physical.

The ex accused me of cheating on him with anyone who I considered to be a friend. He thought I was meeting coworkers in the middle of the night for sex. (I run on a volunteer Ambulance and we would get paged frequently in the night) He accused me of sleeping with a Doctor I worked for.....

When we would fight, he would leave and threaten suicide. This went on for a total of 14 years.

One time, my son (then 14) said, "Let him blow his brains out, we would be better off." I decided it was time. My boy was going to a wrestling camp out of state for a week. I told him my plans and after dropping him off at the airport, I left and moved in with my parents.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done. At the time, I felt like a failure. I felt like I was suppsed to be able to fix everything. I'm a nurse, this is what I do. It took some counciling and meds for a short period of time, but I'm sooo much better now.

When I remarried, my son asked the ex to relinquish custody so my DH could adopt him.

There is much, much more to the story, but it is a really loooong story.

Suffice to say, When you do leave, don't look back. If you go, it has got to be a permenant decision. No amount of begging or threats will make you go back. If you haven't firmly decided that, it is IMHO worthless to leave. He will only have a tighter grip on you. Use your resorces with family, friends, church..... Make a plan and stick to it!!

Good luck to you. Please feel free to PM me. We are all with you

Lori

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