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nursey41
9th September 2007, 04:41 AM
Hi
I am new to the site so will try to quickly tell you my story:
I am 41 and my hubby is 52 and we are seperated, although we are still living under the same roof, but he is due to move out in just over a week. I have started divorce proceedings because his behaviour has been so unreasonable. I will try to briefly outline it.
We discovered he had a neurological condition about a year ago and we were both devastated, but with treatment, the physical symptoms have been improving and I have stood by him giving him loads of support to do an OU course and not give up, and support him with feeling bad about not being able to work.
His moods became worse because of the medication and he started to withdraw more and more into a world of internet gaming and chatting on various sites. At first I thought this would be fine, because I thought it might be a distraction for him, but slowly it became obvious that this was now his world and he had absolutely no time for me or our four children. He was literally staying on line from morning until very late the next morning, whilst I struggled to raise our four children, run a house and study for an adult nursing degree. I eventually decided that things needed to change and I said he must start to act like a father and husband if he wanted our relationship to continue. He told me he was not prepared to put himself second and I knew that our relationship would finally end, after being married for nearly 18 years.
Things gradually got worse and he even became quite aggressive towards me and sometimes the children. I also had to listen to him chatting quite intimately with other women online. The other day he came clean to me that he had fallen in love with another women on line and had an internet affair if you can call it that, from May until August. He said he told her it should stop because he knew it was upsetting me and that they could start up again after he moved out, but she got nasty and he also found out she had been lying about her age and what she looked like, because she had sent him pics of a model she had photographed and she was in fact 61. This did not make me feel any better, cos for months I had suspected he had found someone else and he had tried to make out that I was imagining it. Also he told me he had never loved me like he should - like I deserved, because I am not really his type but there was an instant attraction for this women and it so hurts to know he has only loved me like a friend rather than a deep love you should have for your partner. He was also married briefly before and I know he has always loved her more and that too hurts deeply. I have also had to witness him chatting to another women the other day on line, telling her she was very spiritual and a wonderful person and he had sent her some poetry that he would only send to her etc and I found it just so hurtful that he has been sharing quite intimate moments and thoughts with several women online, plus the hurtful things he has said about us and our relationship. I even found an unopened card in his drawer that says just to say I love you and I want to spend my life with you always and every waking moment I think of you etc. I confronted him about this and he eventually said he bought it to send to her, before they finished their relationship.
This has left me feeling devastated and lacking confidence plus my self esteem has taken a total nosedive. I actually contemplated suicide one day and wrote a good bye note and when he found it, he called the police who came looking for me and found me in my car just in time. I know that was such a terrible thing to do, but I am really struggling living with myself right now, cos he has made me feel like I am unloveable.
Sorry people - I have truly rabbitted on and apologise.
I am hoping things will become easier when he moves out.
nursey41

outoftheblue
9th September 2007, 12:13 PM
Please don't despair and I'm so glad the police got to you in time.Are you glad or do you really wish you had succeeded. I suspect it was more a desperate cry for help. You have four children who love and need you and I'm sure you wouldn't want to leave them without a mum as that is something that they would never ever get over and might even blame themselves.

Did your H behave like this before his condition appeared? From what you have written it would seem to me to be totally related either to the condition itself or the medication. Have you spoken to your doctor about this?

I may be a bit muddled but it seems to me that your H has fallen in love with the picture of a model and he has muddled this 'instant attraction' with a nice picture and some nice words but from a 61 year old. He has been duped but is still infatuated with the adrenalin rush and the imagined excitement of it all. He really does seem to be living in a fantasy land and that might be the meds.

Neurological conditions as I am sure you know from your nursing background can manifest many odd behaviours and I would urge you to find out more because if this behaviour however hurtful is out of character then you owe it to him to help him through it.

Don't ever feel you are unloveable he is passing his frustrations on to you and trying to make you and real life live up to the fantasy world he is living in on the computer. He may be finding his illness hard to cope with and the loss of self esteem etc as well as medication side effects has led him into a world that is at the moment much easier to inhabit. But it's a virtual world and he doesn't seem to be trying to live this life in the real world eg. out all the time, gambling, womanising etc. Talk to him about what solace he finds in the computer world and his virtual friends and see if you can get to the bottom of it.

Stay strong for him, your children and yourself
Cxx

nursey41
10th September 2007, 12:17 AM
Thanks for your kind reply.

There were problems in our marriage before his condition and I was going to leave him but didn't when he got ill. He has made it clear with his actions and words previously that he does not love me as he should - as a husband should love his wife and I have known this for a long time, but decided to live with this until the kids grew up. Unfortunately bit by bit I have found that his behaviour has deteriorated and yes this did start before his illness - well at least his diagnosis, although the meds and his condition have certainly played a part, because his body image has changed and he no longer likes himself so finds it even more difficult to care about our relationship. I have tried to stay strong, but I am not coping emotionally well myself now and my self confidence and self esteem is virtually non-existent . I do not know how to keep going, with the way things are but I think when he moves out it will get easier.
My hubby has made it clear to me that he loved his previous wife absolutely and that went wrong because her mother died just before they got married and she could not cope with things. As they were both young, it just did not work out. I think he has huge regrets about that and wishes he never married me. I can never compete with this and knowing that he does not and will never love me in the same way is heartbreaking, especially as I worshipped the ground he walked on.
I am severely depressed living with the constant reminder that I am not worthy and he has turned to others for companionship and solace. Because of this, I am unable to remain strong and although I know you are absolutely right what you say about my children and how devastated they would be if anything should happen to me, I guess I was being very selfish and just not considering them - all I could think about was how little I wanted to remain on this earth. I am not proud of this.
I have tried talking to him and working through his difficulties but it hasn't seemed to help - he continues to chat to many women online and form quite intimate relationships. The 61 year old lady he became very fond of started intially through chatting with no photos exchanged until much later - that is what really hurts, because he was so attracted to her personality and sense of humour. Meanwhile, my own is diminishing and I feel I have nothing left to offer.
I do not hold out any hope our marriage will be saved; only that we might go on and manage the best we can for the sake of our children. I feel so hurt right now though and have told him when he moves out, there will be no need for us to have contact - we can make arrangements for our children over the phone, without ever having to meet (well possibly occasionally). He said that he wanted to see me, but I said that for my own state of mind and mental health that I would rather we did not. I can't help this, because he is still lying to me, saying he will not talk to these women online whilst he is still living under the same roof as me and yet I keep catching him, because he quickly logs off when I enter the room. I know he is lying and when I confronted him today, he did not deny it. He promised me he would not do this after the police bought me back, because he was so upset thinking I was going to hurt myself, and yet he started lying again only two days later.
Sorry for my long winded reply. It is helpful to chat and get a few things off my chest.

nursey41