Anonymous wrote:Stop with the nonsense about the prospects being good for a romance in the future. It is not true even though there are exceptions.
Take care OP and stay strong despite the trauma you are going through. And I agree with you that people are very quick to suggest divorce on this forum. It should be the last resort for everyone's sake.
Anonymous wrote:There are many of us your shoes, however, you captured the essence well. The isolation, the emotional and physical exhaustion, the sadness, loss of dreams. No one stays in abusive relationships if the abuser doesn't offer some major carrots and good memories along the way. It's how he keeps you hooked in.
I'm sorry, it's not fair, and the final insult is how hard and painful it is to get out.
Anonymous wrote:You are leaving an abusive man and the main thing you are worried about is your love/romantic life?
Anonymous wrote:It's so easy to type, "time to divorce!" The reality, however, is awful. Even in situations where it is clear it had to happen (as in my case), the reality of it just sucks.
It's the hardest thing I've ever done. People say, "Good for you for not staying! So many people don't leave abusive relationships." They seem to think that ends it.
Funny how so many of them are not the ones who are there when you are wracked with sobs in the middle of the night - when you mourn what should have been, what could have been, what you hoped and dreamed of. When you mourn the time when you had hope he would change. When you have to remind yourself that you can't allow the good memories to erase the bad - that it all happened and is all part of one whole.
Few people are all one thing or another. If my STBX was only 100% abusive and there were no good memories, this would be easy. If it were easy, I would not be facing single, almost 50, and no realistic hope for a romantic future. Nor would I be crying over the past. To those who say, "Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all," I say, "Liars!" Except that, without my marriage, i wouldn't have my children, and then I would really have no reason to go on at all.
Anonymous wrote:+1 that there is hope for a romantic future. A friend's mom got remarried at age 60 to someone extremely compatible, and they are so happy. You sound like you have so much to offer -- obviously very smart, self-aware (in therapy), and funny (lol that maybe the dog should be in therapy!). In the meantime, find things that you can enjoy on your own, for example a class that you always wanted to take. Your new life will be what you make it. It will get better!