The Emotionally Abusive Relationship: You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore by Mary T. Kelly, MA
There might as well be eggshells all over your floor. Or how about this? There might as well be eggs all over your floor—with you spending your days tiptoeing around them, lest you step on one and create a mess. You feel tense, unsure, out of sorts and lonely. You long for the partner you fell in love with. The partner who was loving and caring. The time you spent together was wonderful!
Then something shifted. Unexpected dark clouds began shadowing your otherwise bright and beautiful days together.
The weatherman hadn’t forecast a storm. Yet there it was, ruining an otherwise perfect day. You’ve begun to get a sense of being on a roller coaster and are well familiar with the opposing experience of highs and lows in your relationship.
You can’t predict your partner’s moods. One minute he’s attentive and warm. The next he’s being critical and demanding. (Jekyll and Hyde come to mind.) You find yourself worrying about which person you’ll live with today. You’re told that you don’t love his kids enough. Nor do you do enough for them.
You’re criticized for tiny things which shouldn’t matter. You’re berated and knocked down. You begin to second guess yourself: “I shouldn’t have said that,” or, “I should have done more.” You self-examine and self-examine until exhaustion sets in. You just want everything to be OK.
If this pattern resonates with you, you’re in an emotionally abusive relationship.
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