Yes a year of turmoil sucks balls, but you go out of it with your wits intact. It took me 5 or 6 years to figure out the puzzle that XAH was.
In answer to your question....you probably put up with his b.s. because it didn't start out ALL bad in the beginning. It got progressively worse as the months passed by, and you tried to rationalize things by saying "well it's not THAT bad". Thankfully you gave yourself a kick in the butt and left early. Yay for you!
And, as always, what we're willing to tolerate in our relationships is a startling reflection of our sense of self-worth...