How To Recover From Emotional Trauma of Domestic Abuse

Iv gon throgh so much i n my life with one thing another & to find
This has helped me, iv been struggle so long withe what iv gone no one wont's to help me ??? at all.

I saw my oldest daughter start to go through this with her now ex, we put a stop to it very quickly. I left my abuser at the first sign, my mother was murdered by hers. Get into a support group for victims of abuse if you don't have a good support group. Please. You're worth so much more Sally.
http://fromwednesdaysheart.blogspot.com/2015/05/life-is-interesting-part-two-of.html

I'm so exhausted by the recovery process. I was married for 20 years and he was verbally, emotionally and sexually abusive. I've been sort of doing ok but recently he filed some court docs that I couldn't afford to fight so I lost the rest of the settlement money he owed me. Now I'm trying to figure out a way to support our son on my own. In theory, that shouldn't be too hard. I'm starting a part time job on Monday but I am freaking out. I feel so incapable. So many things have gone wrong since I asked him to leave 3 years ago. I feel like I can't really function the way I need to. Is this common? Am I crazy? I don't understand what's wrong with me. With the legal issue, it brought up so many bad memories...I'm a mess!

To Sally: Go to the link that Kellie sent to you as soon as possible - don't wait.
To Kellie: I can't read all of this right now. It's too much. I've just found this site because I was researching "battered woman syndrome." I felt as though I had never heard of it, but I think that's probably not correct. I heard someone say the phrase "battered child syndrome" on television and was just looking to see if 'battered spouse/woman syndrome' might be "a thing." As I typed that last sentence I realized that I probably am familiar with it, because I know that "spouse" is used in place of "woman" - in ...something? I'm not sure what right now - because there are (some) men that are/have been battered in the same way. I've spent a lifetime perfecting ways to avoid things I can't deal with. I think it has made my memory somewhat "Swiss cheese-like."
I'm responding for 4 reasons right now. The first reason is because when I read an older post of yours that was one of the first responses to a "Bing" search, you mentioned, at first, not feeling as though you qualified as a battered woman because the physical violence was so sporadic (my words, not yours - I don't have yours readily available to quote.) I went through that, too. And even though there were times when I believed he would and/or could kill me, I know that other women have survived far more severe, sometimes horrific, physical attacks. While I knew that what he was doing to me was terribly wrong, I'd hear their stories and think THEY were the abused women. I had simply married someone with serious mental problems. When they started using the word "battered" instead of "abused" for some reason that felt more accurate.
The second reason I'm writing is because, while I feel that we both "qualify" the physical violence in my case didn't progress exactly the way you described it, and it might be important for others to know that the sequence of events isn't cut and dried. It can vary depending on the kind of person the abuser is. I now think the person who used me as a target for his anger and aggression might have been a bona fide sociopath.
I lived with my ex for five years before we married. We already had one child and I was pregnant with our second before he ever actually punched me, and it was only once, in the leg, in that instance. He did, however, have a quick, violent temper and a mean streak from hell. He was also an avid collector of weapons, mostly guns. By the end of our marriage he had a small armory - which gave him a feeling of power in general and made his threats seem entirely viable to me - which was an integral part of the brainwashing. When we met he was overly nice and very aggressive. He was never even mean until we were actually living together. His insults and his threats were indirect at first and he thought that all of my "faults" and "shortcomings" - and my seeing them as insults - were "cute" or "funny," just like my thinking he was threatening me was cute or funny. How silly was I?!! I wasn't, of course. And the yelling at me and name calling, the accusations, the incessant sexual demands, the condescension, and telling me how much I needed him for the things I didn't know about - like how to work on the car(s) - all part of the brainwashing. There would be weeks or more of his being overly accommodating vs. his "reigns of terror" as I called them & keeping me (and by that time, my children) walking on eggshells - which would start right after I finally started to let my guard down. He progressed from in the beginning, just yelling, to breaking and/or throwing things, to throwing things AT me, to shoving me, to pushing me onto something soft, to pushing me without caring where I landed, to pushing me into something hard, to punching and/or backhanding me only once or twice, but hard enough to split my lip once and breaking the glasses I was wearing once (which left me bleeding from a cut over my eyebrow) and making my nose bleed once, etc, to pulling my hair and using it to bang my head into a wall repeatedly, to kneeling on my back & trying to strangle or suffocate me or punching any number of times (not usually more than four) or throwing things at me or picking me up and throwing me into a wall, onto the ground, whatever, - once or repeatedly to any number of mean or humiliating and/or painful scenarios. At the end of 21 years together he had only given me one black eye, but he was clearly abusive - especially toward the end of the marriage.
The brainwashing was successful long enough for him to gain control of our finances and even my money for the first few years. He systematically alienated me from my family and friends and isolated me from anyone who wasn't primarily "his" friend or associate. I was 'allowed' to work. I was young and working at a fast food restaurant. I remember being upset when he would stop in unexpectedly, because I was a whole other person when he wasn't around - the person I couldn't be, maybe even myself, although I still don't know who that is after being away from him for as many years as I was with him - that's 21 years each.
The third reason I'm writing is because in writing about co-parenting you talked about not speaking to him on the phone and advised someone to switch to texting or emailing only. I just want to add a little to that because until he gets help or finds another target for his anger & aggression, the abuser still thrives on getting a rise out of his target - which is currently you. This isn't necessarily true for all abusers, but with some, if they can't get to you directly, they'll get to you through your children. Hanging up on them as soon as they start pushing boundaries is AWESOME. It reinforces that boundary. But be careful about the timing and circumstances of going to text & email only. And, of course there has to be some kind of provision for absolute emergencies - which he will exploit.
The fourth reason is Secondary Wounding. When I can, I'll read what's written above, but I'll bet that it isn't geared toward someone who just keeps getting knocked back down. My ex has been dead for 11 years but I find another little bomb (figuratively) that he left every few years. My children who have been everything to me their whole lives, and who would have had nothing if not for my struggling to ensure their happiness and comfort, worship him and won't have anything to do with me now. Plus, since so very much happened right before I left, I had to seek medical assistance. My doctor insisted I see a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with Major Depressive Disorder w Severe Chronic Anxiety (CPTSD.) I was prescribed medication. I saw it as treating the symptoms while I learned to deal with what had happened - something that wouldn't be necessary after some therapy and hard work. It would have been if not for secondary wounding. The general public is doing a terrible disservice to people like me, people who want to work through our issues and get to the point where we no longer need the medication. By eschewing the entire science and branding it nonsense and unnecessary, they are only keeping people who need help from getting it and moving on with their lives.
So, many years later, I'm suffering and I just keep getting kicked in the teeth. You'd be surprised at the severity of my condition and how alone I am and what I have to deal with. Anyway, I never see anyone addressing Secondary Wounding and how to recover while you're still having your self esteem knocked down a notch nearly every day. I'm sorry this is so long. I really just meant for Kellie to read this, and don't have a problem with it being deleted once you've seen it.
Good luck with your journey. I'm glad you've found your niche - you're doing a good thing here.

Your worst day in recovery will always be better than your best day with your abuser, because you're not constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop while simultaneously wanting desperately to believe that this time he really wants to do better by you and his bad behavior is over for good.
As long as you're with him it's never over for good. He's already crossed that line with you. By staying there, you've accepted his doing so. He knows he can go at least that far over the line and he can apologize and cry and make promises, and you'll stay. Abusers are like children, continually pushing boundaries. It will happen again and again and again - unless you get out and get help, or unless he goes too far and you don't survive.
And that's not even the worst part about staying. As long as you stay, you are also teaching you're children that it is acceptable to behave the way he does. Even if they choose to never be the target of an abuser, they could very well be seeing their future relationships in only black and white - either they are treated as you were, or they treat the person or people closest to them the way he treated you. - AND -they're learning how to treat you, and much you'll put up with. Hopefully they wouldn't consider putting you through anything more than you've already endured, but don't count on it.
It's best for them if you get out quickly and show them that abusive behavior is just plain unacceptable. Be strong for them if not for yourself. Stop the cycle of abuse from continuing on into future generations of your family.
There IS help available to you. Check into it. Generally a battered women's shelter can put you in contact with anyone that you would need to handle all of the things that you worry about when you think about leaving. The sooner you get out, the better - for all of you. If you think you're not strong enough, think again. Do you realize how strong you have to be to survive all that you've endured? Use that strength to get out instead of staying. Then you can start to recover outside the relationship.
Even if you think you've waited too long, remember: your worst day outside of an abusive relationship is better than your best days in it. Personally, I'm still back and forth between the stages of recovery. But that's ok. I'm a survivor.

WOW! I hear you and its like reliving my day to day life with my abuser! Walking on eggshells, scared to upset him. Condoning his behavior over and over. Maybe one week good, then snap, mean, verbal abuse, ugly hurtful words, put downs . Well I'm on my way out,,,plans to sell my things and move on. Ten years of misery. You really made me feel better reading your story Kellie,,,my husband is 49 . I am 54. He's an alcoholic, and everyone would say hes tired, he has so many stresses at work, he is this, he is that? So im just suppose to put up with his abuse? When i worked it was shift work, and i was tired, i didn't come in and abuse him, which i wish i could have. He has verbally abused me for so long, i don't feel any love. It is gone. I read the book, Co-Dependant no more, by Melondy Beattie, she summoned it up for me, we don't worry about them, we worry about us. She also said, she relived his funeral. Over and over, and i started laughing, because that's how i felt. She really helped me in this book, and Madea Family Reunion, show,,,fix him some hot grits and throw it on him if he beats you, and then hit him with the skillet! I volunteer for DART. DOMESTIC ABUSE RESISTANT TEAM. We have signs and t-shirts. That says Real Men Beat Eggs! We raised under a thousand dollars for the shelters for women in Louisiana. I am ready to live my life without a man and go to meetings to teach me the signs, and learn from others how to survive and succeed in my future. I can make it, and i will because i havev family who want to help.

Love is NOT Abuse . Abuse is not love. 1-800-799-7233 National Domestic Violence Hotline. 1-888-411-1333 Louisiana. Hotline. This is a free call. God be with you and find resources to help yourself and your kids.

hi I am 24 years old and married with five children. I kinda figure that I am in a abusive relationship I have been in denial now I feel enough is enough. I don't know how to get help and where to start. I feel like I have a really low self esteem and I don't have confidence in myself no friends I do have family but they don't deal with me because I choose not to be around them for my husbands sake because they didn't like him because he hits me whenever we get into arguments. its weird to me I don't understand anymore how my life ended up this way I am still soo young. I feel alone

About a week ago, I made the definite decision to leave an abusive relationship, I have blocked his emails and phone numbers and he has moved out of my house. For 6.5 years on and off, I have allowed this monster to emotionally, mentally, and verbally abuse me. I allowed the very little “good things” he did overpower all of the horrible heartless things he was doing to me. He lied to me, cheated on me, beat me, and degraded me over and over again. I loved this man, even through all of the abuse. I was so blinded by love, I always made excuses for him. The first few years, he showed remorse, then he showed none. The first few years he begged me not to break up with him, then it was I who couldn’t let him go, he was a very nasty addiction. I didn’t want to be alone, I didn’t want him to leave me, I felt as if I put so much effort and time to prove my love to him that I couldn’t accept him leaving me and moving on. It was such a nasty addiction. I let it go on for so long that it began to feel normal. He would hit me and I would cry and hurt for a few hours then it was as if I blocked it out of my mind. It took him ruining my credit (720 to 450), a 45,000 dollar car repossed, late mortgage payment, 15,000 dollars in credit card debt and him leaving me when I ran out of money for another woman to realize he USED me and Abused me didn’t care. He didn’t care that he hurt me, he didn’t care that I was hurting, he left for the love of money. I will never forget his words “ I don’t need you, you ugly fat pathetic Bit***, don’t call my phone”. It should have never taken all of this to realize what I was doing to myself, but unfortunately it did. I may be weak and hurt but I know God is going to help me through, I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I will NEVER allow another person to hurt me the way he did.

i left an abusive relationship after 2 1/2 years. i finally had had ENOUGH! he put his hands on me for the last time and drew blood; whether accident or on purpose, i got no apology for it! in fact, he stood right in my face after it happened and said nothing-NOTHING! over the past 2 years he broke alot of my belongings and i just didn't want to believe HE IS A MONSTER; i told myself NO, NOT HIM. but he is, he was. he fits the narcissitic personality traits to a T, refuses to seek help and is in complete denial of any wrong doing. although he never cheated on me, was responsible when it came to running a household (sort of), occasionally got me flowers and other presents, he had a very VERY nasty temper; he says he was not jealous or insecure BUT he was! i was always accused of "flirting online" then eventually because he wasn't getting it as much as HE wanted, i was accused of saving it for someone else, then CHEATING! he had a sneaky way about him; he somehow hacked into my fb and was reading messages in my inbox and said i was talking bad about him to any bitch that gave me 2 seconds of attention. i tried working outside the home, that was a problem. the jobs i had were early morning and if i tried to go to bed early and he wanted some, he would fight with me saying i was denying him, not pleasing him, not attracted to him; during 1 incident and this should have been the first & last time i should have LEFT, we were arguing and he poured beer over my head, did not let me sleep in the room with him and told me i disgust him. (lucky we had another bedroom). i got up the next morning to take a shower in the 2nd bathroom and he flew in, turned off the water and WOULD NOT LET ME TAKE A SHOWER! i told him i cannot go into work smelling like beer and he said I DONT CARE, YOU'RE NOT TAKING A SHOWER. i cried all day at work, i could've went home but since that was some time to be away from him i didn't. i have so many horrible, painful memories of how he treated me, even after i left! the names he called me, and is still calling me. he's 34 and is acting like a 4 year old. i have accepted im not going to get any heartfelt apology. its been over 3 months since i left; he stalks my fb page and gets mad about what i post; its my effin page i shouldn't have to worry what pisses him off but if he reads something he doesn't like, i get a nasty message; i am planning to move on my own in a few months and he told me WE BOTH KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE, assuming i've been with other people here. he called me 1 morning and i didnt answer because i was in tears at the nasty messages he was sending and he says YOU MUST STILL BE AT HIS HOUSE HO...i was driving in my car from a grocery store! i'm 44 i don't have for games and i am not even looking for anyone else after what i went thru. i am just enjoying taking care of myself; getting my nails done which he got pissed off about that! i get massages every 2 weeks, i bought myself a car and all of this, he sent me messages calling me na mes, how i didn't do any of this for HIM and i must be doing it for someone else; if i post something about going to the gym he says NOW YOU'RE GOING ALL FULL FORCE TO GET YOURSELF SEXY FOR SOMEONE ELSE, smh. i have cried to him how hurt i am, how i am heartbroken and devestated; i asked him if he wanted to make it work and he flat out told me WITHOUT ANY HESITATION "I DON'T WANT TO WORK IT OUT". but yet, i get accused of things he's making up in his head, to fuel his anger and rage! when i ask to see him he tells me no because that will only confuse the feelings more. he is seriously so caught up in the past AND will not own up that the reason i left was because HE IS ABUSIVE; and he has a history of it, others before me! he had his chance to get right but no, its just more anger and name calling (he's called me EVERY name there is, including a FATASS!) i did so much for him, for his son that he gives me NO credit for and thats fine, he doesn't have to; but at the same time LOVES to throw in my face what he did for me, smh. well, i just needed to vent, i know i did the right thing for me because he was very capable of hurting me worse; my heart aches sometimes and im so heartbroken because i was so committed to him but i don't know who he turned into.

I was in an extremely emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive relationship. The person would start these terrific fights. I never could figure out where they were coming from. Then if I reacted, he would say I started the fight. He would refuse to acknowledge what he was doing to me unto I just thought I was crazy. He was gaslighting and preying on me.

My husband of 18 years grew unbearable a few years back. We walked on eggshells, he'd flip over the smallest of things, he never showed love but would wake me when he came to bed expecting sex...if I pretended to be asleep he'd physically push me away. He'd dominate everything and 4 years ago he became physically abusive one day when he pulled me by by arm across the room, pushed me and pinned me down telling me I would listen to him. He used enough force to leave bruises.
He never seemed to feel remorse & when I would get upset about it he would say "I didn't hit you" like his behaviour was ok. We split up, he suddenly broke and seemed remorseful for the way he had treated me in our marriage. A year later we tried to build a relationship. He had changed but yet still I can't let go. Any argument I feel ready to defend myself. He shaves and I hate his face as he looks like the man who treated me nasty and it triggers a fight or flight mode in me (stupid I know but he's had a beard for a while now). I don't ever want to feel weak with him again. I also do not enjoy sex with him as it feels he has power over me and I hate it.
Guess my above reasons are enough to call it quits. But it's so hard to end it for good. I guess as this isn't the life I wanted for me and my three children. I wanted a happy marriage and I got far from that. We go through cycles of being 'ok' but my life is full of triggers and not liking him :(

After months of terrible emotional abuse , fits of rage , being spat on while I cried and he pretended to play the violin over me, 2 anxiety attacks of where I wet myself after 5-10hours of being yelled at & made to admit it was all my fault and I was emotionally neglecting him, my basic human rights to my freedom ... Seeing a friend alone , wanting to walk the beach for some fresh air alone , popping to the supermarket alone
I was denied all of these basic rights not to mention my cellphone and car keys
My heart is breaking because I do love him
But after months of maybe believing I was all these things & feeling frightened embarrassed , I finally realised I don't deserve to be treated like this he is actually very very nasty to me he hates who I am he doesn't want me to be me or have an identity he want to be my king and he doesn't give a shit about who I am, so mr M!thews fu"k you for treating me so horribly when I only ever showed you love f"Ck you for trying to change my happy kind spirit Fu!k you full stop , I'm getting a protection order this morning and I'm never going to let you mess with my head or my life again

Thank you for sharing this. Even though I have been to therapy, I share a child with my abusive ex; and the journey
to be free from the pain and damage he caused; some days seems unlikely. I have come to understand and accept how impotent the system is in dealing with abusive narcissists. Frameworks for abuse exist but true meaningful support and change is not a reality. Abusive men get away with their denial. Lies. And delusions.
However. I realised how far I have come after reading this. I'm between phases 2 and 3.
I also realised my child would have to be taught to be strong and resilient to manage this personality as a parent. He started showing signs of verbal abuse towards my son.
I came to realise as weak as society systems and structures are in stopping and healing this fracture in humanity... the little you do daily to be strong... To stand up and own an experience and use it to help others even in little ways, does make a difference...
You can't heal those so sick they need to hurt others. But as women and mothers we have the power to grow a new generation free from this scourge. And empower our children to love.
I read once you never realise how strong you are until you forgive someone who wasn't sorry and accept an apology you never received.
More than loving myself everyday enough to make my life better and beautiful. I have taught my son to love himself and never let anyone disrespect undermine or destroy his essence.
The only way to suffocate narcissistic abusive men is to be strong self assured and successful.

I was married for just 4 years to a man who verbally and emotionally abused me. It took me 3 years to realize that it was abuse. I finally got the courage to leave him a few months ago but the damage he has done in those few short years is still manifesting itself. I hated who I became when I was married to him, I acted in ways that I NEVER have before because I just couldn't take it anymore. I spent hours sitting on the floor with my back to the bedroom door while he raged incessantly at me from the other side of the door. I eventually kept an overnight bag packed in the trunk of my car for the nights when I would have to escape and go sleep in a hotel for the night. I wound up in the hospital one night with 4 staples in my head and a shoulder injury that still reminds me every day of what he did because I am in pain from it every day. The abuse has changed who I am, I have moments when I feel like the old me again but they are quickly destroyed by one memory of something that he said to me. I'm a fucking bitch, a Nazi, a poor excuse for a wife, I'm selfish, vindictive, malicious, I only care about myself. Some of my closest friends that I had known for years before I met him do not get it. They welcome him to Bible study groups while I'm left on the outside because he only shows to them Dr Jekyl, never Mr. Hyde. I'm so very weary of this, he has literally destroyed my life. I desperately miss who I was before I met him. Tonight it all got too much and I attacked myself, punching, slapping and hitting myself in the face because I am so stupid to have kept trying with him. My life is in a million pieces on the floor and I have no idea how to pick them up or how to start putting them back together again. Tonight it feels like he has won.

Hello.
I just recently made a descision to end the cycle with my partner. Im still coping with it. It doesnt help matters im in an isolated job and i just found out im going to be let go in 2 weeks. Lots of emotional abuse and a bit of physical and soo much gas lighting i cant count. It came to a head when we both had to move to different parts of the world for work to reestablish our income. She accused me of cheating on her which i did not do. Kept on going back and forth with her affections. Making me feel as if i am completely at fault. I have my own part to play in this, i felt trapped and i didnt want the day in day out confrontations.but it has been too much. The threats, one day us comminicating fine and then it just going down hill and 3 to 4 days later another screaming match, more threats of retaliation and her basically saying im at fault for everything. Im just trying to cope with this situation and struggling at times. I just feel numb due to some of this situation. I would live some advice someone in my situation can do to cope with this, since my enviornment here for its resourcs, isolation and also a language barrier.
Thanks for listening

I have just recently left my partner. I feel so confused about everything. He was just taken by the police. I told him i was leaving and then he started telling me what friends he could bring in. He is a heavy drinker and can have massive mood swings. I will say one sentence and if hes not in the right mood it will turn from talking staight up to yelling in my face. Oh did i mention we have two kids and he couldnt even tell the officers their birthday. He was flicking through our pages for their bitrth certs i had to tell them the dates. One of them happened to be the policemans birthday ironically. I have been through all the abuse. I was stupid enough to get pregnant to the guy straight away which he initiated. When i fell pregnant he started to control me. Didnt want me to stay out late, which i needed to because of study. Started to talk aggressively. And it started with pushes. Then hed hit me in places that are unseen but the most painful. Eg hed hit me in the back of the head squeeze my jaw, strangle me, pull my hair back so my neck would click, etc. He kept putting me down saying im a whore and started the brainwashing. He didnt like to see me happy and hated my family. Always had an excuse when it came to family occasions and when he did come hed be really awkward and not want to participate. That goes with the kids sporting events also. He made it hard for me to feel comfortable in those environments. You would think hed be happy to see his kids doing things. But when came to his friends he was the happiest man alive. Came to the point where hed bring his friends over for a drink two or three days a week after work. He was a couch potatoe and rarely did anything in the house except cook because thats the only thing i could cintrom with the man. His hunger. He always said i did nothing when im studying horticulture which involves physical labour. I come home and get no credit for doing all the housework. He crashed our car with the kids in it. They ended up in hospital my youngest has a large scar on his forehead and the other had a face twice the size. He lost the keys to our current car so im left without a vehice. Hes behind in rent and power. Everythings under my name except the sky he had a scowel when i told the man it will be his. Oh and his family comes every christmas and visits leaving with all our valuables. I told him not to take the classic dvds. The only dvds missing were the classics. He does things deliberately to make me weaker. It came to the point where i would look at him and my head would go into a negative rampage... to the point where i have to cut it. Just stop. He goes and it stops. His presence is very gloomy. The most recent scenario that opened my eyes was when he was lounging on the couch with the t.v right up loud as usual and then he starts putting me down. I telm him his behaviour is unacceptable and that only fueled the fire because once its lit with him,one word anything will set him off. So he drages me to the door. I sit down i have the right to watch t.v he tells me to go and look after the kids spend time with them. He doesnt even give them the time of day the lazy father. I come back in and he throws the pillow hard and didnt stop. So i sit and watch lie in the couch and cry and watch t.v. Something set him off again and he comes up and squeezes my face i already have serious jaw problems. He does it twice, not three times because my legs are there fending him off. He didnt hurt me so i have a feeling he wanted to make sure i was hurt. I told him why doesnt he pick on someone his own size like those people that are bothering him at work. He told me because they are not my wife. Noone can see what i do here to you. Thats when i knew he was a monster. I called the cops and used the protection order that i should have. I shouldnt have to leave my house. Im still struggling to keep the negative out. I mean i know its early days and the emotional damage and physical damage to my head is really intense. Its a longterm injury. It helps when im positive and dont think about it. Stop myself from thinking negative. But i think its going to take a long time to remove all the crap inside there. I just hope its physically possible. Anyway i can already feel the freedom. Oh yeah isolation n all that yeah thats me. So nice to hear im not crazy and alone in this.

very scared left him 8 weeks ago after 9 years im scared shaking crying lonely he found me trying his best to get me back ive had the police round 5 times
he keeps ringing me texting why am i in such a panic about been alone? i feel afraid evety bang knock or phone call makes me jump
i cant sleep im scared to go out ive contacted a womens aid they told me to block him and not let him in and have no contact so why am i so weak i give in to him
he says i need him and cant cope alone im scared stiff ive no one so frightened from all the abuse will i ever feel normal again?

I have just left my abuser after two years. I cannot believe how reading all the posts above have made me realise that I have definitely been a victim of abuse. I never thought I would end up where I did. I should have realised 3 moths after meeting him, when he kicked me that something was not quite right. I'm an intelligent women with a high profile job! Yet I let this animal reduce me what what I am today, scared, looking over my shoulder, feeling I cannot phone my son or speak to my grandson.
Everyone and everything that mattered in my life he tried to turn me against. Like others he would say nasty things to me and accuse me all the time of flirting. I ended up walking round with my head down so not to draw attention to myself for fear off accusation.
On reflection every holiday and family occasion has-been ruined by him and his jealousy. When he dragged me round the bedroom floor by my hair and threatened to put my shoe in my head.. I should have left then.. But I stayed and forgave him.. Then he traumatised me in the car slamming the breaks on throwing me forward .. Accusing me of sleeping with my son "sick"
Threw me out of the car in the middle of the Yorkshire dales, threw all my clothes out the windows and down the stairs, smashed lots of things. Took everything back he had bought for me..
I ended up managing he behaviours to protect myself! It was emotionally draining. Walking on egg shells all the time, having to be careful what you say so not to upset him. He even took my phone whilst I was asleep and downloaded all my old messages then held me prisoner while I answered to them,
He looked at old pictures then abused me about them and they were before I even met him.
He dragged me across a pool area on holiday and threw me on top of someone.. He asked to be moved away from me on a plane then left me alone to travel to our holiday destination..
I do nothing wrong and struggled to undertand why I was being treated like this. He apologises and offers me holidays, clothes, money to make me feel better. None of it matters, I have realised that being yourself and having your basic human rights is the most important thing. I don't know who I am anymore and I yearn for the person I was before I met him. I was also trying to study for a masters and hold down a full time job while all this was going on.
I am going to fail my masters and it his fault, I got in trouble at work for taking him to a work conference, which I had to do due to his accusations. I ended up getting disciplined and I thought oh my god! I'm going to loose my job because of him..
I have been left a week and he is texting me night and day .. Morning baby, night baby, choose. A holiday you want to go on etc etc etc.. I cannot breathe right, I question everyone I do, I'm isolated alone need to find myself again.. I look at pictures of my self before I met him and I don't know who that person is in the pictures anymore, my family and work colleagues have all said I have changed.. They don't know me anymore, he has isolated me from every me and everything I ever enjoyed, music, gym, going out.
However on appositive note after reading all the posts.. I'm not going back! I need to find myself, however I know the recovery process is going to be slow!
One of my colleagues once said " you will wake up one day and think, how on earth did I get here" she was right, good luck everyone be strong we don't deserve to be treated like this

I'm blown away by all of these comments. I have been talking to the hotline since February and in this abusive relationship for 5 1/2 years. I keep thinking I can leave, but something always keeps me there. Now last week, he found out I was looking for a place to live, and he is ANGRY. Constantly brings it up if I am upset about anything, he puts that in my place, like I've hurt him so bad. He told me he doesn't care if I go, only cares and is mad that I am taking my dog from him. Making me feel less than a dog.. which is common with him...the dog is treated better than me, and it honestly hurts. I've been working so hard at getting my self-esteem back, but don't think I know how. I am seeing a counselor this Friday to finally talk to someone that can help me. I have been too afraid to tell my own family, which now I understand is a form of the isolation that they pull us into. I have told a variety of friends, and only a few understand and are sticking with me until I can make a move. I feel so confused and hurt all the time, and the depression has hit hard. I feel like my head is always in a fog and I cannot even have feelings at this point. When I am away from him, and at work, I feel like my confidence comes back and I remember that I CAN survive and make it without him, but then the feeling fades and I cannot imagine leaving him after investing 5 1/2 years into this. I know the abuse is only going to get worse, especially now that he knows I was making plans to get out of it. But what is holding me here still?? I am so glad I found this site and can use it to gain strength and encouragement that I CAN SURVIVE TOO! one day..

I am divorcing my abuser and now I and having to relive everything in court. His lies, and the lies of his attorney are taking me down. Sometimes I wish I would not be alive anymore. I feel so depressed constantly. No one really cares, and certainly not the court system. It is a circus that I never want to go to again

Help!

My abuser is not a partner in fact I've been single 16 yrs. no way I have confidence to meet someone. My abusers have been my alcoholic Mum, Brother with scitziphrenia and Sister with undiagnosed mental health and she's now the worst. Mum died recently so no abuse there. Sister who I'm so kind too and enable her forever is so paranoid and terrifying. I'm fake all the time so scared she will go nuts. I was abused again this week and I go into depression takes me a couple says to get over it. She puts me down and is a controlling angry human. I forgive because she has no one. She has abused every person she can in cold friends and family. She has ruined our rships with relatives. I can't so it anymore I'm getting older and she's a lot younger. I need to build up my confidence. I hide away and eat.

It has been 8 years since I left my abusive husband. We were together for 14 years. I have remarried and have problems with my new husband touching me when I do not expect it. it is causing us problems. Any suggestions on how to get over this?

It feels weird writing on here... but I think its time to vent. I was with my ex, three and a half years. It was a very abusive relationship. I had lost friends and become isolated from everyone, I had lost myself, confidence, everything, id fake smile my way through every painful day.. A year and a half later after finally moving house twice and settling in at university I have met the most amazing guy, hes been so much help, and with the help of new friends I've started to gain my confidence back. I may be happy.. but when i'm alone and particularly at night (since He stalked me, his family stalked me and 'our' friends) I still struggle to sleep... I have nightmares quite often, not as bad as I use to now that I have confided in my partner and a close friend who has been in an abusive friendship..I struggle badly when my partner isn't there. I don't want to struggle against this.. I want to keep rising up and enjoy university and new relationship instead of staying in and hiding these emotions. My friend suggested I vented... so here we go i guess..I feel like Il never have a day to myself where I don't think about the past.. even though my present is quite good..I wish Id grown a back bone a long time ago..

I was pretty nervous going to college, after so much publicity of campus assaults on a National level. Even a friend of a friend was nearly sexually assaulted at her University, someone saw her and stepped in luckily. Knowing some personal defense moves has improved my confidence, and carrying pepper spray just in case. I bought a defense device, and feel a lot safer now.

I don't usually do this...but I know that I need to in order to move past this feeling of blame, the feeling of fear, hurt, anger, resentment but mostly disappointment. My ex boyfriend who I still saw after our break-up, I suppose during this time we tried to fix and mend things before he hit me, he hit me, after humiliating me publicly by flirting with other girls in my presence, he still expected me to go home and sleep with him to which I responded and said no...there was no way in hell I would ever allow a man to touch me right after disrespecting me...on the way home he abused me verbally first...the verbal lead to physical. The following day I made my way to the police station, made a case but dropped the arrest because I feared it might affect his career... days later I find myself questioning that action, I find myself questioning everything...I'm so afraid of being alone I know that when it's quiet the memory of him, the thought of me being physically hurt by him...all that will come rushing in. I've endured my fair share of bad relationships but non like this...non like this...I can go back and open up the case, he couldn't even hold to one agreement and cover my medical costs...his not sorry...what should I do? I'm not someone who destroy's peoples lives but where is the justice?

I have been married to my abuser for 45 years. I can never escape and am completely depressed. He thinks he is the victim. He thinks that because he no longer physically abuses me it's ok but mental abuse is horrible I am trapped physically. I am falling apart

I just got out of an abusive relationship , my ex boyfriend broke up with me and said everything was my fault he blamed his bad grades on me and said he couldn't focus in school because of me. He told me he'd have sex with one of my friends and got mad when I confronted him about it. I just feel like everything is my fault just like he wanted it to be, he would never let me be around my friends and get angry when I talked to them or left him out of my conversation with them he even would get mad when I wouldn't let him see or read my text messages to the point where he put his fingerprint into my iPhone I and now he seems like he doesn't even care about me when I cared about him so much I just don't know what to do and he was very sexual towards me and did things I told him not to do.

I dated an abusive boyfriend on and off for six years. In the end, the relationship ended because he tried to have me committed. He was a serial cheater. He cheated on me with countless women. I lost all the girlfriends I had because they had affairs together. As our final ditch-effort of making it work he invited me to move to New York with him and move in together. I wasn't there a week before it became clear to me he was cheating on me with his co-workers. I tried to leave him. We got in a huge fight one night and he called the police and told them I was suicidal. He was a clinical psychologist, a graduate from The New School. He knew that if he told the police I was suicidal, they would have to arrest me and take me in for evaluation because suicide is illegal in most states. He did that. They took me in. They kept me in a holding facility in a mental hospital in Harlem for 17hrs. I got out because I said, "I have to be at work on Monday" as they were trying to have me moved from the holding facility to their in-patient program upstairs. I got out. I never spoke to him again. That was over four years ago. After it happened I couldn't stay indoors. I had a fear of being inside. I became a long-distance runner. I started dating someone else that was very large and intimidating and angry. Someone that claimed he would protect me against anyone that would do what the first guy did, but who ultimately ended up being just as abusive in a different way. I can no longer run. I still mourn the loss of myself and of my freedom. I'm not over it. I don't know if I will ever be over it. Every time I tell someone what happened they think that I'm crazy instead of seeing this man as dangerous. He's moved back to my hometown with a new girlfriend. She doesn't know what a monster he is. Friends that I thought were friends have stopped speaking to me or answering my text messages because they want to be his friend instead. It's very sad. I've lost everyone.

I am just after leaving an emotionally abusive relationship with a sexually manipulative woman. We were together for almost 9 years, I have lived with her for 8. At first she used to worship the ground i walked on. She was so sexually obliging that it intimidated me and my sexuality. She had a child with a former partner and between her relationship with him and the time i met her she used to tell me how many men she had been with and her coworker friends with benefits. I feel so stupid now that i didn't see the signs but she treated me so well I enjoyed it and wanted it to continue for a while. I was planning on moving out after one of her outbursts when she declared that seh ws pregnant. So I stayed for as I wanted to raise my child. Over the course of our relationship she would humiliate me infront of her exes family and my family and her family. She would always make me jealous at most opportunities. She got pregnant again. and just 5 months ago she got pregnant again. She was lying to me about when she would finish work, bought sex toys at christmas ahich were not for me, i was devasted on christmas day. she used to stave me of affection, sex, comapssion, loyalty, companionship and self worth. She is and has been pushing all the buttons on my heart, now that i have left her she is using the pregnancy against me as she is leaving sublte hints that she is seeing someone else, while bearing my child in her wombe. She is utterly toxic.
Now i know what most people will think of this a, why in gods name did you ever get involved, but it was a slow process off entrapment and i had never experienced anything like this before. I was naive, no question, but this has been a gradulal attack on my good nature and now i am suffering from PTSD and panic attacks.
I am not free from her although i have left her as between visitation transitions and arrangements she is still abusing me.
Her correspondence is written by a third party, probably her new victim, and it is completely impersonnal and extrememely condecending.I have a good job so child mainteneace is not a problem. i intend on getting a dna test when the unborn child arrives.
I am using all the advice available for stress amanagement and am making arrangements for new accommodation.
I will build my life again piece by piece but the thought of her being cruel and manipulative for years to come sets of anxiety in me.
Thanks for reading.

I was with my abusive ex boyfriend for 2 years and I still feel so messed up from it all, I feel like i'll never recover. He would constantly manipulate me and control me, he'd control me, my money, what i'd wear, who I'd talk to, where I would go he actually banned me from going to certain places and I would completely isolate myself and just stay locked in my room I was unbelievably depressed and developed serious anxiety. He would tell me what I could and couldn't wear, he'd constantly put me down and say mean, nasty spiteful things about me and my appearance things like I never make an effort when I'm with him yet when I wasn't with him I get glammed up when it was never ever the case or that my skin is horrible or that I look like a slag etc. He would always stop me from going on a night out with my friends he would cause absolutely huge arguments whilst i'd be getting ready and reduce me to tears every time so most of the time I wouldn't go out or if I rarely did I could never enjoy the night, I'd constantly be anxious and so worried for what I had coming from him. He took thousands of pounds from me ( I was a university student at the time so he literally took everything I had, I failed a year at uni because I wouldn't go in because I was so anxious and I knew my 'friends' had been gossiping and bitching about me) I'd be living off pasta and passata because I couldn't afford anything. A lot of my friends at the time just didn't have time for me anymore because I would isolate myself so I had no one to turn to. He would threaten my friends and family and i'd always tell myself as long as I can handle him as long as I take everything then no one else will get hurt or know what he's like, I was so ashamed that I was being treated like this but there was no escape if I'd be off or negative or try to end it he would never have it he would turn up at my house or just would never let me escape. He would be violent with me too, one time he was dragging me by my head down an alley close to his house, someone must of heard me scream and called the police and they turned up to his house and I had to lie about everything, I knew the police didn't believe me but what could they do. I wasn't allowed to talk to any boys or no one he didn't know, he'd think the girls on my phone he didn't know were actually boys but I saved them as girls, clearly a guilty conscience. He could do whatever he wanted and I was never allowed to have a go at him, he would go on nights out and not tell me or even if he did tell me i'd never ever moan, little did I know at the time he was out cheating on me, he even slept with one of my friends which she completely denies but I now know for a fact it happened. He made sex feel like a chore, I hated it I used to lie about being on my period and sometimes I'd say I don't want to but he would manipulate me so much and make me feel so bad and so wrong for not wanting to he always got this way. I look back on it now and can't understand how I let it happen even typing it now I just dont understand and how much of my life I've wasted as a year on and I still can't get over it, every single day without fail everything runs through my head over and over, anytime a story line on TV relates to something he put me through I can't control my emotions. I have never ever spoke to anyone about how bad things were with him and I would never tell anyone I know about it all i'm still too ashamed and confused and embarrassed and hurt to tell anyone but I can't get over it and I just want to forget about everything so so bad but I don't know how I haven't even been with anyone since him I haven't even put any photo's up on social media since him because I just remember the things he would say when he would criticise me and I just think I look disgusting in all my photos. I just want to go back to my life before I ever met him I used to be so happy and so bubbly I used to have so many friends and had so much confidence but I don't know how and don't know if I ever can get back to my old self, I don't know if I can get over it all.