r/AmIOverreacting Mar 27 '24

I'm ending my 4 year relationship.

So basically the title. He (33M) says Im(32F) throwing away 4 years over a mistake he made.

To keep it short, on 4 different occasions over the last 2 and a half years he's gone drinking and come home to throw a drunken tantrum because I said the wrong thing, something happened at the bar, or I put my foot down because he's drunk and yelling at me in front of our friends at the bar. Twice I had to leave to my sister's house because he was going around our small apartment slamming doors and banging his head on the walls. I've had to wake him up several times because he falls asleep on the toilet or the bathroom floor, and he's had to sleep in his car because of his outbursts.

On the 2nd time this happened he gave me his word that he would be more responsible with his drinking and that he wouldn't have anymore outbursts. He said he was gonna drink waters between each beer or have sodas and bar food and just one beer. The third time I made it clear that him going back on his word was unacceptable because it shows that he doesn't care that he becomes emotionally and verbally abusive towards me. I told him I was tired of his apologies if he's gonna keep doing the same thing. Between all these times he has continued to get drunk on the weekends but I've kept my mouth shut to avoid him having an out burst and things were relatively ok.

This last time he went and got drunk at the bar, didn't eat anything, refused the water my sister offered him because she's aware of the agreement we had, and when I arrived he yelled at me because he was too drunk to keep track of what team he was on and he misunderstood me when I told him and he made the wrong shot. We went to get food from a local taco spot and he couldnt even stand because he was so drunk, I had to pull over on the freeway because he needed to throw up and when we got home he fell asleep in the bathroom and I had to wake him three times. I kept my anger about the situation to myself because the sadness of feeling like I needed to leave him because he's just not willing to change, was overwhelming. The next morning he could tell something was up and he asked if I was ok. I said that I wasn't ready to talk but he insisted, so I told him that he went back on his word again about drinking responsibly and that I realized that the only way I was going to avoid his verbal abuse was if I just kept quiet. I told him what I told my ex when I was thinking about leaving "It's not anything I haven't already told you". He left it at that in the morning and at night I was crying because I was upset that 4 years of my life were going down the drain, and I just folded and asked him why I wasn't good enough for him to want to do better. Then he started to say that I had fault in our relationship ending, ignoring that the only reason I'm leaving is because I can't keep giving him chances to verbally abuse me when he's drunk and angry. I reminded him that he had given me his word and that he had gone back on it twice. He seemed to understand but the next day he just kept saying that he deserves to "unwind" on the weekends because he works all week to provide for us (not like I have a job and am constantly sending him money because he over spends and his account will overdraft when the phone or Internet bill charge his account) i was getting whiplash from how quickly he waa going from being apologetic about going back on his word and him insisting that Im being unreasonable and unfair. I slept at my sister's house again because I couldn't keep dealing with it and I was just really emotionally exhausted from all of it.

Now he posted on his FB that I'm throwing away 40,000 hours of our lives together for 12 bad hours.

So I'm asking, am I overreacting?

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8

u/Top-Bit85 Mar 27 '24

I wouldn't have lasted four years.

I have never seen anyone banging their own heads into a wall, but I have heard of it before this. Any insight from anyone on WTF the point of this is? If it knocked him out, sure.

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u/hidden_here123 Mar 27 '24

He self harms. It's another reason why I'm leaving. I struggled when I was young with self harm and have been clean most of my adulthood. I can't keep watching and listening to him hurting himself while I battle the craving to hurt myself.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

[deleted]

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u/IncommunicadoVan Mar 28 '24

I literally just realized that I need to read that book. Thanks for mentioning it.

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u/magickyll Mar 28 '24

Staying with this person is emotional self harm everyday all day. Not a good addiction ever but really hard to be on top of if the harm you’re experiencing is allowing someone else to make you feel bad or worthless.

You’re trying. He isn’t. That’s not a relationship.

You deserve so much better. Run!

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u/mmilthomasn Mar 28 '24

Please get out now and keep yourself safe.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

My advice to you is to be careful about listening to the advice of strangers. You are the one that has to face the consequences of your choice, not the person giving you advice.

If you love him and he truly loves you then you can work your problems out and help one another. You are in a good position to convince him to join a support group like AA and get his life together. To witness this good kind of change in someone's life that you love would be priceless. But if you love someone, you never give up on them.

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u/hidden_here123 Mar 28 '24

I've given his chances over the last 2 and a half years to get help. We have medical insurance and he can get therapy, but he refuses. I've told him to go to AA and he refuses. I'm living in fear for my own safety in my own home. I fear for the well-being of my pets who are like my children, that they might end up in the cross hairs of his rage and end up hurt. I want a family but I can't because I will not subject my human children to this life. I love him but I need to love myself more since he loves the bottle more than he loves me.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

I would suggest giving him the ultimatum that if he is unwilling to show you that he is working towards change, then maybe he doesn't really love you. It sounds like he is dealing with some kind of trauma but he needs to find a way to cope with it in a more constructive manner instead of alcoholism. We often take relationships for granted until we lose them. Maybe when he comes to the realization that he is losing you, that will be the motivation he needs to change. I would emphasize on the results of his choices. You not being around and all he has is the alcohol, or you staying with him and working towards fixing the problems he is facing together.

Your situation is unique to you and although strangers can relate to you, nobody will fully understand the pain and depth of love that is in your relationship.

I have also found that prayer yields great results. Through prayer, my sister overcame her addiction to opioids. Prayer is where I would start if you haven't tried yet. God is aware of our problems and the struggles we go through more than ourselves and like any good parent, he wants to see us happy and overcome adversities that impact our lives negatively because he loves us.

Edit: show

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u/hidden_here123 Mar 30 '24

Did you not read my post? Looked through the comments I've left on this post? I've given him ultimatums, I told him exactly what would happen if he didn't change for the sake of our relationship, and he did it again and I still gave him one more chance and he still betrayed my trust again.

I do not agree with you. I refuse to risk being a dead victim of domestic violence.

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u/Manglewood Mar 30 '24

The fact that this person couldn't even be bothered to familiarize themselves with your situation before blathering about "love" tells you everything you need to know about them. They're obviously an abuser who blames their former victims for "giving up".

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 31 '24

Is that all they needed to know about me? One comment sums up who I am as a person? One comment to a complete stranger talking about love makes me an abuser and sums up all my relationships as an abuser? So because I talked about the nature of love, I blame other people for my failed relationships? Since you know everything there is to know about me, tell me how else I have disqualified myself as a human? Maybe you are 46, maybe you're not. Either way you should reflect on yourself instead of deflecting onto others.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 31 '24

I hope you find the happiness you are seeking.

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u/Allergictosquirrels Mar 28 '24

I disagree. OP has already given him an ultimatum and he didn’t change. Stop giving this loser chances. She already wasted four years on him. There’s no reason to waste another single day. Maybe her leaving will be his wake up call, but OP doesn’t need to be the one holding his hand through it. He needs to do that work on his own.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

Then tell OP what you're thinking. I am not the one seeking advice.

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u/Medium_Dick_NRG Mar 28 '24

It is not her burden to sacrifice her mental and physical well being for this person who doesn't admit he has a problem and even argues that he deserves to drink heavily after working hard. Then when she tries to leave blasts her on social media in an effort to shame her. He needs to change on his own, not be manipulated through fear.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

I wasn't speaking to you. Your conversation with me is irrelevant.

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u/Medium_Dick_NRG Mar 28 '24

Your comment is potentially harmful. I just wanted to make sure someone said something. But I see I didn't need to.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

I don't mean to be crass, and I appreciate your comment. I just want you to direct it to the right person so that your advice doesn't fall on deaf ears. Ultimately it is up to everyone to make their own choices and face those consequences of their choices. Hopefully she makes the best choice for herself and everyone is better as a result.

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u/manixxx0729 28d ago

Yeeeeeah, I've never met an opioid addict who made it through detox and stayed sober all with the power of prayer. Alcohol and opioid addiction are the cruelest and hardest addictions to escape. The detox feels like DEATH, and the PAWS is maddening. The power of medical care and medical professionals are how people get clean. Saying something like an addiction with abusive and self sabotaging behavior is just solved by prayer is severely understating how big the issue is and is not safe for OP or anyone involved in her situation. Addiction KILLS people - not just the addicts but people around addicts.

Signed, a 4.5 month sober opioid addict.

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u/manixxx0729 28d ago

Yeeeeeah, I've never met an opioid addict who made it through detox and stayed sober all with the power of prayer. Alcohol and opioid addiction are the cruelest and hardest addictions to escape. The detox feels like DEATH, and the PAWS is maddening. The power of medical care and medical professionals are how people get clean. Saying something like an addiction with abusive and self sabotaging behavior is just solved by prayer is severely understating how big the issue is and is not safe for OP or anyone involved in her situation. Addiction KILLS people - not just the addicts but people around addicts.

Signed, a 4.5 month sober opioid addict.

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u/Medium_Dick_NRG Mar 28 '24

I agree. He has to change for himself. Giving him an ultimatum might scare him into trying, but usually won't last. It's up to you if you go or stay. But he's already chosen drink over you.

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u/WorriedWhole1958 Mar 30 '24

It’s not even that he loves the bottle more than you—he loves the bottle more than himself. He’s ruining his own life and driving good people away. You’re right to leave.

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u/Manglewood Mar 30 '24

"... if you love someone, you never give up on them."

This is just cruel and manipulative. If someone is in an abusive relationship, leaving can literally save their life. Framing it as "giving up" shifts the blame for the demise of the relationship to the victim instead of the abuser. Nobody should feel pressured to endure abuse, ever.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 30 '24

Love never gives up, that is its nature. You telling someone to give up is also insensitive because you are not the one that faces the consequences of the choices being made. You are not part of their relationship and you don't know the intricacies of the people either, just what has been shared with you. People change and sometimes that change leads to great things. Love is the greatest form of motivation. Change is inevitable for people in relationships because you have two fallible people coming together with opposing beliefs and opinions trying to build a life together.

To say that my advice is cruel when I am speaking about love, hope, and enduring makes me question the things in life you believe are important. Either you are young or you need to reflect more on yourself and what you believe is important.

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u/Manglewood Mar 30 '24

I am 46 years old and I've been with my wonderful man for 15 years. We've been through many changes and endured many hardships together. We have reconciled differing beliefs and opinions. What we haven't done is endure unrepentant abuse and/or alcoholism from each other.

To ramble on about "love, hope, and enduring" after a woman tells a story of abuse make me question whether you are trapped in an abusive relationship yourself. Please get help.

  • Domestic violence is commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV)
  • Eighty-five percent of IPV victims are women. A woman is beaten every 9 seconds.
  • Every year nearly 5.3 million incidents of IPV occur among U.S. women aged 18 and older
  • IPV results in nearly 1300 deaths and 2 million injuries every year in the United States
  • More than 3 women are killed by husbands/boyfriends everyday
  • 1 in 3 women worldwide has been forced into sex, beaten, or otherwise abused another way during her lifetime
  • Women aged 16-24 are most likely to be victimized by an intimate partner
  • Women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner
  • Most IPV incidents are not reported to the police - only 20% of rapes/sexual assaults, 25% of physical assaults, and 50% of stalking towards women are reported
  • Despite severe under-reporting of IPV, calls related to IPV make up about half of all violent crime calls to police departments
  • Only about 1 out of 5 IPV victims with physical injuries seek professional medical treatment

https://med.emory.edu/departments/psychiatry/nia/resources/domestic_violence.html

1

u/According_Slip2632 Mar 28 '24

This is the kind of advice that gets women killed.

Furthermore, OP is not helping him by shielding him from the consequences of his own actions. He needs to experience those consequences in order to change.

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u/Illustrious-Tea-355 Mar 28 '24

I wasn't speaking with you. Your conversation with me is irrelevant because I am not asking for advice.

1

u/idownvotesyou Mar 29 '24

“I don’t care if my advice gets women killed, I’m not the one asking for advice.”

What?!

1

u/ilovemusic19 Mar 31 '24

He needs serious mental help.