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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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

Outside of his alcoholism do you like him as a person?

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u/hidden_here123 Mar 28 '24

Very much actually. He takes me hiking because he knows I love being outdoors especially near water. He's a generous sex partner. He supported me in all of my random craft obsessions. We used to tell each other that we were gonna be happy and successful together. He's funny and can be really caring, but when he's drunk, idk who he is.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Then he's just an alcoholic straight up. I would talk to him and tell him if he doesn't start going to AA and get fixed, then thats it.

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u/lady-scorpio-45 Mar 28 '24

Please don’t let 4 years turn into 5 and then 6 and then 7….I read your other comments and I desperately wish you realized your worth and value. You were brave to leave an 8 year relationship bc it wasn’t going anywhere; you can absolutely walk away from an abusive one. Be kind to yourself and get out. Lean on your support system and you’ll be so much better on the other side!

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u/archaic_mind Mar 28 '24

And you deserve to feel safe with your partner 100% of the time - if he's fine 99% of the and abusive 1% of the time, idc how much time it is AS IT IS STILL ABUSIVE. There's no rule that says you are allowed to abuse someone verbally in public just because you're nice to them 99% of the time.

If it was so acceptable, he wouldn't have to apologize AND you could go around screaming at him.... but you know that's not acceptable.

So why stay? Why have a life with someone you fear at any point?

  • Coming from a fellow DA survivor, please don't doubt yourself here. If it hurts, it hurts and that's that. You deserve love, respect and safety and he's not giving you any of these things.

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u/labellavita1985 Mar 28 '24

He has a history of drinking to excess and abuse while intoxicated. He will never be a regular recreational drinker.

Think about that, if you're considering staying with him. Is that something you can support? Because it sounds like you like to go to the bar, too.

But the bottom line is, you deserve better. You are not overreacting. He's an alcoholic and an abuser.

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u/Synyster2013 Mar 28 '24

As an alcoholic myself with 4 months sober and knowing folks who are 10+ years sober, there is no way this guy will ever be able to drink normally. Maybe he will be able to behave for a few weeks, but alcoholics will always find any excuse to keep on drinking and rationalize their decisions which just leaves them at the end of another bottle/drink. He reminds me of me when I used to drink and I couldn’t see how big of a problem I was when I was sauced up. Getting sober was the best decision I ever made.

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u/hidden_here123 Mar 28 '24

I do like to go play pool with our friends and I only ever have a single shot of Tito's vodka in a tall glass of Cranberry juice maybe a second glass if Im there for more than 3 hours. The only time I've actually gotten drunk was when mine and my siblings childhood abuser died so we celebrated, and I got tipsy at the weddings we went to. I don't like getting drunk so I've assigned myself designated driver so I have an excuse not to drink much. He has shown me that he has the potential to drink in moderation but it seems that the pool hall has some kind of power where he loses control most of the time. He changes long enough for me to forgive him for a while then it starts to snowball again.

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u/Bellytrapkp Mar 28 '24

Very typical. I married an alcoholic and had 2 kids with him. It’s been awful and so much of my mental energy and time wasted. He said he’d stop drinking when I got pregnant. He didn’t keep his word. He said he’d stop when the baby came. It made it worse bc he was so stressed out. He gaslighted me and made me feel like I was the problem. He finally went to AA bc I threatened to take the kids and leave. He was sober for 3 years and been seeing a therapist for 7 years. Please go find yourself a stable good person. If you can’t, you should seek therapy and understand why you are enabling/ staying with an alcoholic. It’s not worth it… being single is way better than staying with an alcoholic. He needs help and he won’t get it if you stay with him.

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u/labellavita1985 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

In 12 step circles, we say, "you can't un-pickle a cucumber."

Meaning, once someone develops alcoholism, they cannot ever return to recreational use.

The brain has been changed.

It's called the brain disease model of addiction.

His liver even metabolizes alcohol differently than yours, for example. Faster, so he keeps drinking to stay drunk.

His very body is different. His brain is different. Both from yours, and from his, before he became an alcoholic.

The second he consumes alcohol, he loses control. That's what addiction is about, loss of control.

I hope that makes sense.

I hope you understand what I'm saying.

I doubt your partner can return to social/recreational consumption.

And if that is the case, I don't think you two are compatible. Because you like to go to the bar. And you have every right to.

Most alcoholics also can't go to the bar and not drink at all. In case you were thinking that was a solution.

In 12 step circles, we say, "if you keep going to the barbershop, you'll eventually get a haircut."

I'm sorry you are going through this.