Old 03-08-2013, 08:13 PM
  # 90 (permalink)  
amooseoncebitmysister
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Portlandia
Posts: 77
Manmust, I feel for you.

I lived on that merry-go-round for years with my AH. I moved out on our 16th wedding anniversary, and it was the best thing that I've done for myself in years.

I lived that exhaustion too, the constant worrying and obsession, the many hopes (THIS time will be the one!) that crashed, the changes in him, us - our lives spiraled out of control. It is no way to live!

I had a different experience with my suicidal AH - he had two serious attempts this past year which landed him in the psych unit (and subsequently, the rehab unit). Luckily for me, I had a great therapist who helped a ton during the process, including the weekend he was missing after he left a suicide note at home. I learned to give him over to the professionals. Once, after I'd moved out, I had to call the police for a welfare check after he told me during a phone conversation that he was suicidal.

During this whole hellbound process, which was AWFUL, I let.go.of.him. as in, I detached, but with love. I felt profound sympathy for him, because I finally realized how sick he is, and that his brain-wiring is all wrong. It was an epiphany for me - that I truly could not control him, that he was his own person with his own problems that only HE could address, and that I needed to take care of me, the only person I can control.

Once I *acted* on that epiphany, it was completely freeing. I love the guy, but I now live my life around me, and my needs (and the menagerie). I'm learning about myself again, and it's great!

Only you can know your time frame for extricating yourself and your kid out of this situation, if you do, ever. I felt a lot of shame and self-loathing because I stayed in my marriage/house for as long as I did. I hope you don't beat yourself up like I did myself, for years.

Unlike you, I have no kids (animals only), and I think that might have been an impetus for me to get out sooner. Living with an alcoholic can and will impact a child for the rest of their lives - as a child who grew up with an AM, I can tell you that it drove nearly all the choices I made, consciously and subconsciously. If I had been healthier, I might not have been drawn to alcoholics as partner. I especially hope you think about your kid here.

Do you teach your child that being lied to/treated like crap is the norm in a relationship, or do you teach your child the way you'd like to see your child live life?
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