Women who Love too Much Community Group
WHEN BEING IN LOVE, MEANS BEING IN PAIN... This group is to help women through the journey of realizing they can love themselves. To help realize that they are capable of having a happy, healthy, whole relationship and break the cycle of abuse and heartache from loving emotionally unavailable men.
Dracona
Hello all, ive been gone for a minute. Ive been having to deal with some pretty awful stuff lately.
for those of you who dont know, my abusive ex tried to kill my new boyfriend by running him over twice, and trying for a third. my boyfriend saved me and and the kids, and wouldnt let my ex in the house to get us. My ex didnt even know who my boyfriend was. He fled the scene for over 24 hours evading police. He was released 5 days later, to go back to school in ROTC to be an army officer. we were not notified of his release as promised, we werent even notified of court dates. They refused to include me in the case for a restraining order because I wasnt the victim, even though i was the intended victim. said harassment/stalking was too hard to prove. My ex has prior arrests for vehicular assault and domestic violence. most were covered up by the navy (he was navy before army), and the one that stayed on his record the prosecutor refused to use in court, because he was only being charged for this one current crime. The prosecutor assured me there was a process, that he would be charged with a felony, that he would make justice happen. the court cases were continued, and then my ex entered a plea... for negligent driving, basically, less than a DUI, and they granted it. He wasnt even fined. I called the prosecutor, he said that i needed to respect my ex, who is now an Army officer. Also said he didnt like us basically, liked my ex better, and let him off. and that there was nothing we could do about it because prosecutors cannot be sued.
NOW... my boyfriend is screwed. his back is messed so bad from this accident. he hurts so bad, and still works. also, his ex wife, has gotten into drugs which is why she is his ex, she is living somewhere in some drug house, trying to take her son there who is 4. she will not tell us where she lives, so we have stopped allowing her to see him for his safety. we are trying to get a restraining order so we can establish a parenting plan or supervised visitation, and our own protection and again, the courts have told us to fuck off. We have to serve her papers, and even though she is on probation for getting a DUI with her kids in the car, no one seems to know where the hell she is.
This is all taking its toll, IM GOING FUCKING nuts. I had to quit school for a while, because as being on a path to be a therapist, I dont know what to tell anyone, or if i want to be in this field anymore, or even finish school. im so burnt.
my boyfriend, is a wonderful person. thoughful, insightful, caring. cooks for me, lets me ride horses ,loves my daughter. He risked himself to save us, and i know he would die for us in a heartbeat.
but I have PTSD, and now he does. he has been through a lot in his life im surprised that he didnt already. he was in the marine corps, got hurt, was 80% disabled before he was ran over twice. He lost his daughters ten years ago in a divorce when she ran out of state and he could never find them. I'm amazed that he is such an amazing man, in all this he still went to work, he tries so hard... but he is losing it, and i can see it, because ive been through it myself. its taken me 20 YEARS to control some of my triggers, and i still battle every day, but he doesnt have that 20 years of self control with this, and this is new to him, the anxiety, the anger, the insomnia, the constant vigilance. and the courts just let my ex go...
I dont know what to do, he tried to get help and the counselor stood him up. like called him, confirmed an appointment, and wasn't there, and never called back for an explanation or to reschedule. yah, on top of all this imagine that, so now he is not continuing to find help cause he believes its useless. He hasnt been diagnosed, but i see it in him. i know... i study it specifically to be a PTSD therapist.
im losing him, bit by bit every day. he now yells, he never yelled at me or said anything but a kind word before.
he feels alone, and I cant help him no matter how much i tell him im here and i love him. He is short with the kids, they are so young, 4 and 5, and yah, they fight and whine and mess up the house and get into shit like little kids should do. but he cant handle it now. he is not suicidal... but he cries every day, wakes up with anxiety. He went to court today for the 5th time trying to get a restraining order on his ex to protect his son, and was told to leave again and come back, and they would not sign the order because she has not been served.
he blamed me for this at first, said i did not help him get her served, that no one will help him, then says he's sorry, tries to get it under control, then is back to cursing and running out the door.
even after he was hit by a truck and was released from the hospital, he went to work the next day and didnt miss a day, with broken ribs, a fractured back and wrist, swollen kidneys and spleen. he wouldnt take a day off. now he can hardly work because the anxiety is taking him over, he has to call in because he cant deal with people.
I can only deal with so much before I am triggered. Ive been through so many abusive relationships that this is so incredibly hard for me, I dont want to leave him. I love him. I cant abandon him. but i dont know how to keep myself sane right now. even in all this how beautiful of a man he is still shines through... but i fear he doesnt see me anymore as who I am, not all the time. im losing him and I dont know what to do.
and when I trigger because he is triggered, well its not good as you can imagine, and he is at a constant trigger now. its eggshells. I do everything I can. but i dont know if i can do this, or even how to do this.
I blamed myself and allowed myself to stay in abusive relationships because of my PTSD. i thought it was me. My ex who did this whole mess, used to trigger me on purpose, get me lost and confused, and use it to control me and tell me it was my fault, and that he would help me.
I dont know what to do, i need support, advice, something, anything. I feel so helpless and lost, and i know my boyfriend does to.
we were betrayed by the system that is supposed to protect us more than once, hell, they gave me back to my mom when i was a kid, they let my daughters dad off after he ran me over with a car while i was pregnant. I dont know how to continue my career right now.
I have come so far in my life, battling this monster inside me. im about to have 2 degrees, I have a beautiful daughter, ive always worked, ive always gone forward even though i didnt even know where i was going, i just kept moving even though sometimes i really just want to stop, i really just want to die and be a statistic, but i keep going, i seek others out, help people. im going through all this school so i can open an non profit counseling service and host a ranch for horse therapy. I dont want money, i want to save people from what i went through, i want help to be available.
but now? this is eating me alive. my grades have dropped dramatically. I have no motivation for school anymore. I have so much anger about what has happened. I was told i wasnt a victim... my ex is around town all the time. said good luck in court to me even. he knew he would win.
I dont know what to do... or how to be there for someone who has the same problem I do. i cant be there for him like that much longer before i cant contain the storm inside myself.
for those of you who dont know, my abusive ex tried to kill my new boyfriend by running him over twice, and trying for a third. my boyfriend saved me and and the kids, and wouldnt let my ex in the house to get us. My ex didnt even know who my boyfriend was. He fled the scene for over 24 hours evading police. He was released 5 days later, to go back to school in ROTC to be an army officer. we were not notified of his release as promised, we werent even notified of court dates. They refused to include me in the case for a restraining order because I wasnt the victim, even though i was the intended victim. said harassment/stalking was too hard to prove. My ex has prior arrests for vehicular assault and domestic violence. most were covered up by the navy (he was navy before army), and the one that stayed on his record the prosecutor refused to use in court, because he was only being charged for this one current crime. The prosecutor assured me there was a process, that he would be charged with a felony, that he would make justice happen. the court cases were continued, and then my ex entered a plea... for negligent driving, basically, less than a DUI, and they granted it. He wasnt even fined. I called the prosecutor, he said that i needed to respect my ex, who is now an Army officer. Also said he didnt like us basically, liked my ex better, and let him off. and that there was nothing we could do about it because prosecutors cannot be sued.
NOW... my boyfriend is screwed. his back is messed so bad from this accident. he hurts so bad, and still works. also, his ex wife, has gotten into drugs which is why she is his ex, she is living somewhere in some drug house, trying to take her son there who is 4. she will not tell us where she lives, so we have stopped allowing her to see him for his safety. we are trying to get a restraining order so we can establish a parenting plan or supervised visitation, and our own protection and again, the courts have told us to fuck off. We have to serve her papers, and even though she is on probation for getting a DUI with her kids in the car, no one seems to know where the hell she is.
This is all taking its toll, IM GOING FUCKING nuts. I had to quit school for a while, because as being on a path to be a therapist, I dont know what to tell anyone, or if i want to be in this field anymore, or even finish school. im so burnt.
my boyfriend, is a wonderful person. thoughful, insightful, caring. cooks for me, lets me ride horses ,loves my daughter. He risked himself to save us, and i know he would die for us in a heartbeat.
but I have PTSD, and now he does. he has been through a lot in his life im surprised that he didnt already. he was in the marine corps, got hurt, was 80% disabled before he was ran over twice. He lost his daughters ten years ago in a divorce when she ran out of state and he could never find them. I'm amazed that he is such an amazing man, in all this he still went to work, he tries so hard... but he is losing it, and i can see it, because ive been through it myself. its taken me 20 YEARS to control some of my triggers, and i still battle every day, but he doesnt have that 20 years of self control with this, and this is new to him, the anxiety, the anger, the insomnia, the constant vigilance. and the courts just let my ex go...
I dont know what to do, he tried to get help and the counselor stood him up. like called him, confirmed an appointment, and wasn't there, and never called back for an explanation or to reschedule. yah, on top of all this imagine that, so now he is not continuing to find help cause he believes its useless. He hasnt been diagnosed, but i see it in him. i know... i study it specifically to be a PTSD therapist.
im losing him, bit by bit every day. he now yells, he never yelled at me or said anything but a kind word before.
he feels alone, and I cant help him no matter how much i tell him im here and i love him. He is short with the kids, they are so young, 4 and 5, and yah, they fight and whine and mess up the house and get into shit like little kids should do. but he cant handle it now. he is not suicidal... but he cries every day, wakes up with anxiety. He went to court today for the 5th time trying to get a restraining order on his ex to protect his son, and was told to leave again and come back, and they would not sign the order because she has not been served.
he blamed me for this at first, said i did not help him get her served, that no one will help him, then says he's sorry, tries to get it under control, then is back to cursing and running out the door.
even after he was hit by a truck and was released from the hospital, he went to work the next day and didnt miss a day, with broken ribs, a fractured back and wrist, swollen kidneys and spleen. he wouldnt take a day off. now he can hardly work because the anxiety is taking him over, he has to call in because he cant deal with people.
I can only deal with so much before I am triggered. Ive been through so many abusive relationships that this is so incredibly hard for me, I dont want to leave him. I love him. I cant abandon him. but i dont know how to keep myself sane right now. even in all this how beautiful of a man he is still shines through... but i fear he doesnt see me anymore as who I am, not all the time. im losing him and I dont know what to do.
and when I trigger because he is triggered, well its not good as you can imagine, and he is at a constant trigger now. its eggshells. I do everything I can. but i dont know if i can do this, or even how to do this.
I blamed myself and allowed myself to stay in abusive relationships because of my PTSD. i thought it was me. My ex who did this whole mess, used to trigger me on purpose, get me lost and confused, and use it to control me and tell me it was my fault, and that he would help me.
I dont know what to do, i need support, advice, something, anything. I feel so helpless and lost, and i know my boyfriend does to.
we were betrayed by the system that is supposed to protect us more than once, hell, they gave me back to my mom when i was a kid, they let my daughters dad off after he ran me over with a car while i was pregnant. I dont know how to continue my career right now.
I have come so far in my life, battling this monster inside me. im about to have 2 degrees, I have a beautiful daughter, ive always worked, ive always gone forward even though i didnt even know where i was going, i just kept moving even though sometimes i really just want to stop, i really just want to die and be a statistic, but i keep going, i seek others out, help people. im going through all this school so i can open an non profit counseling service and host a ranch for horse therapy. I dont want money, i want to save people from what i went through, i want help to be available.
but now? this is eating me alive. my grades have dropped dramatically. I have no motivation for school anymore. I have so much anger about what has happened. I was told i wasnt a victim... my ex is around town all the time. said good luck in court to me even. he knew he would win.
I dont know what to do... or how to be there for someone who has the same problem I do. i cant be there for him like that much longer before i cant contain the storm inside myself.
Please whatever you do, get back into school ASAP. The longer you stay away, the harder it will be to go back. *Never* give up on your dream. I believe so much in you and you have inspired me in my own struggles with my degree. If you desperately need time off right now, I completely understand, but make it a priority to get back in there ASAP.
Please focus on only you right now. You cannot help others until you are first okay yourself. Consider helping yourself as the first thing you need to do in order to be a therapist. Practice being your own therapist...be your own patient for now.
To help with your relationship struggles, I highly recommend joining Co-Dependents Anonymous. This is FREE and it will get you in contact with other women who are struggling in their relationships...but also on a spiritual path to help you through your worries. Please do not stay alone in silence with all these issues. They are way too much for one person to bear.
Big hugs, stay strong, don't give up, please keep us updated x
this is just my personal opinion. you are in pure survival mode right now, there is no way you can be a therapist to another person. that's not to say you cannot finish the degree but you cannot give what you do not have.
further, i've said this to you before, being from the military i really think you need to go to a residential program for ptsd. to me it seems clear that you are trying to solve and heal and recover from your ptsd on your own and i'm here to tell you that it cannot be done. especially in a crisis.
so what to do when you're in a crisis and desperate and so hopeless.......time to go back to the very basics right now.....the very basics are food, water, shelter, parenting, love and affection. everyone has these basic needs. he has his own basic needs.
you're basically on the same plane but you've already run out of oxygen. you need oxygen NOW. get help!!!! IM me i'll coach you but you need some help. this is beyond you......
you and i have talked about the severity of the ptsd you have and how i can relate. i'm reminding you how serious this is. it's no joke. severe ptsd is not to be taken lightly.
so let's get some help on board for you. are you willing to consider that??
and then don't panic about school. you can always finish school. it's just my opinion but it's not surprising to me in the lesart you are not interested in school right now, you are struggling to survive.
think about slowing things down. 1/3 of a day at a time. that's it. literally. basic needs for 1/3 of the day at a time. exercise. if you think about it one of the basic needs we all have is sleep and you are unable to get quality sleep due to ptsd so you have to realize then that your ability to cope is greatly diminished without sleep.
please don't expect so much from yourself right now.......just slow it down. work on breathing through the anxiety. remember the DBT stuff i posted about distress tolerance skills??? use those skills. if you don't remember purchase the book. if you can't IM me and i'll coach you on distress tolerance.....(the book is dialectical behavioral training for borderline personality disorder (don't worry about the title the skills have nothing to do with bpd) by marsha linehan.
slow and easy....breath. 1/3 day at a time. you can't cure your boyfriend or your relatiobsbhip or your school stuff TODAY.
i really care about you. i hear what sounds like utter desperation in your voice........here for you..........
just finish today as best you can. if you have food, shelter, your daughter and love for the rest of today that is enough.......can you call the VA and talk about residential programs for ptsd????are you in therapy yourself??? let's brainstorm if that would be helpful for you.....
I have contacted the programs, and you know what i was told? the non profit va ptsd program, only serves combat vets, not other forms of ptsd, so they hung up on me on the phone. yah, not exaggerating. this whole damn thing seems like someone's imagination, not possible.
i see a new counselor on thursday... i was at a dr appt at the VA when i found out he had entered the plea and it was granted. lets just say i lost my damn mind for a second, i told the prosecutor exactly what i thought. I told him i knew he would go home and sleep like a baby, but that someday my ex would kill someone, and that those deaths would be on his head. I told him he was a liar, I told him lots of things.
well i was so upset i was surrounded by the mental health personnel. I was already on edge because i was waiting for an hour already for my appointment, which happened to be with mental health, and they had happened to forget about me and i didnt know, i was waiting in the waiting room for no reason. I pretty much stopped seeing my other counselor when she gave me shit about not having money to pay for babysitting because she was unavailable the days that i could see her. she also annoyed the hell out of me, showing me the cycle of violence wheel, and little print offs of shit that i have picked apart the statistical information for in classes over and over again. it was redundant. she tried emdr on me, and well, i just closed up and felt NOTHING.
so i hope this one can help, or at least lead me to someone who can. im not giving up, but i do feel very discouraged.
My boyfriend, after being run over by a truck, has never raised his voice to me, but its gradually getting bad. yelling, and its not at me, its just because im there. he always apologizes when he collects himself again, and i get it, because ive been dealing with it my entire life.
I dont even know what to say about all of it. its just too much... I know we should focus on us, and whats here, we can focus on my ex's failure, or our own success. but everyone with this demon knows... that sometimes the anxiety just takes over.
I am taking care of myself the best I can... even though we are having problems, with sex, with communicating, with anxiety and ptsd and courts and and and...
we do have some very good potential things in place. We are starting our own business, that is going well, and have been offered to manage another. I have been doing artwork logos and designs for businesses around the area. If this new business venture goes well, then my design may be seen across the country in the years to come, but definately throughout the state. IF all goes well, then i'm looking at early retirement in a few years with this business. but its hard to believe in right now.
I am back into riding my horses regularly. I leased one out to help autistic and disabled kids in a summer camp, because he is such an awesome horse, he itches backs, and gives hugs. i race my 30 year old horse 2 times a week, this friday im running in a charity race.
its hard, cause my ex is gone, out of my life. I am moving on and up in the world, yet i still deal with what he has done every day.
Don't be too hard on yourself., one day at a time.
hugs
xxx
try to find a little fun or joy or pleasure with him each day. just a little. it will i believe help you slow down......
trying to get out of these feelings will make them worse....
try encouraging yourself a little bit. you've been through much worse dracona, you can get through this too. you can and you will...either fighting and screaming or calmly in a self compassionate way 1/3 of the day at a time.
this is not going to last forever....it can't b/c crises are short term.
for a person with ptsd it makes perfect sense to just be coping with the effects of your boyfriends near death/murder. especially now that your ex is out.trigger town.
can you come up with a mantra??? a soothing mantra?? i used to repeat to myself "god have mercy" all day eery day until one day i felt like changing it.
encourage yourself.
i can tolerate this feeling.
i can tolerate this pain
i can tolerate this fear
i only have to do 1 minute at a time.
i'v been through so much i know i can survive this too.
my ptsd is trying to protect me. thank you ptsd for your concern but i've got this now.
i've got an army of women here who care about me.
all i have to do is keep swimming.
i am strong and a good mother and that's what matters most in life, i will fight to be here for her.
then...........take a deep breath.
maybe you don't have to try so hard........just be. accept. love on yourself. encourage yourself. try to be still.