Thanks for sharing your experience with us itsmylifenow - I found this really helpful.
Not so much in dating but in other areas of my life there have been a few situations when I stayed longer than it was healthy for me, and I ask myself "why do I keep sitting on the BBQ even after I notice it's getting hot?"
I think being a total mushroom when it comes to confrontation in my personal life and my strong desire to "make this work somehow"(ugh!) are two good explanations but far from the cure.
What gave me a little hope that not all is lost, was Hammer's statement "pain drives the train" from a couple of weeks ago.Totally true for me. When it gets too hot / painful / crazy for me, even I say "enough" and start walking without looking back. So it's great to know that my basic survival skills are still intact - and I think that goes for most of us. It is a great reminder that no matter how hard we get burnt, and how much it hurts, in the end we most likely will be ok.
However asking ourselves why we stay with unhealthy people, keep sitting on the BBQ, put up with a lot of sh*** makes total sense to me, and I'm sorry I can't offer more wisdom here.
For now I'm glad to know that my instincts will tell me when it's time to get out of the dodge, however I'm looking forward to the day when I will just walk out the door before the ship does down - just more elegant and less dusty.