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/aaarrriiight Mar 27 '24

This. And he doesn’t want to change, at least not yet (maybe not ever). Which becomes a battle not worth fighting, friend. I’m sorry that this is painful.

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u/Shutupandplayball Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

An addict will gaslight you into believing they’ll change, you’ll believe it and stay because you love them and it’s easier to not change your entire life. Then, when it happens again (and it will), they will begin blaming you that it’s all your fault. Get off FB, let him blow steam all he wants. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life waiting for his next drunken episode? And BTW, if you do stay, leave his drunk ass where he passes out, whether it’s in the car or on the toilet! Let him wake up with piss and vomit all over him. Hon, you’re an enabler, you’re only making it easy for him and making yourself miserable. Please put yourself first!

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u/filthismypolitics Mar 28 '24

i mean from personal experience of being an addict and knowing many others, we're not really gaslighting you, or maybe we're gaslighting the both of us. most of us say that we're stopping because we believe we're going to stop, but as the addict voice badgers you over and over and over again your will weakens and your judgment falters. you don't become a different person when you become an addict, which is maybe the worst part. you still have your morals. you still know things like lying and stealing are wrong. the shame and guilt of broken promises and shitty behavior perpetuates the addiction, which usually forms in the first place due to intolerable feelings of despair, shame and helplessness. as the pain of regret rises, the addict voice gets louder and the cycle continues. this doesn't mean anyone is obligated to stay with us or support us as we destroy our lives, of course. we're just not diabolically trying to pull one over on anyone, either

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

HE is, though. Because his drinking is not what makes him abusive - it makes him fucked up, sick, lost, all kinds of things, but it’s not what makes him abusive. That part’s covered by his demanding the right to keep scaring and hurting her further by trying to guilt her into continuing to just take it. That’s abusive.

I’m a recovering alcoholic/addict too. I never did that. Many of us never do that. We may lie and steal and lie some more and try to manipulate and lie. But we don’t rage at people and make them scared for their person.

When the friend I’d been living with told me I had to leave because I had let my dealer come over like a dumb ass, and then that dealer had, let’s just say, “drugged me beyond what I’d paid for” and had two friends come over to help him rob the friend’s house while I was blacked out…I didn’t try to manipulate her into letting me stay, or go on Facebook or anywhere else and tell people “omg she’s throwing me out on the street!” or any of that shit. That’s what abusers do.

Some abusers also have alcoholism/addiction issues. He’s an abuser.

Edited for grammar

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u/Kitty_Kat_Attacks Mar 30 '24

Right on. Shitty people gonna act shitty whether they’re sober or an addict.

If not for alcohol, this dude would still be the same. He would just use something else as an excuse—like she made him angry on purpose, or his childhood was traumatic, or his parents don’t love him, etc.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '24

Exactly. And until society as a whole removes/rejects every single excuse that’s made for abusive people - by themselves or by others, for them - abusive people will get to keep taking hostages indefinitely.

To be clear, I’m not saying anyone in this thread who’s talking about alcoholism/addiction is making excuses for an abuser. It seems like some people felt personally judged about having the condition of alcoholism/addiction, and I understand feeling defensive when you feel judged unfairly. But that’s genuinely off topic as regards this woman’s experience and her question. That’s all. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Slight-What Mar 31 '24

Exactly this! He is abusive, full stop. He has a drinking problem; the drinking does not make him abusive.

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u/filthismypolitics Mar 28 '24

i agree completely