• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
  • We hope the site problems here are now solved, however, if you still have any issues, please start a ticket in Contact Us

Prayer Request Need advise

4mehedied

Newbie
May 16, 2012
3
0
✟22,840.00
Faith
Pentecostal
Marital Status
Married
Husband is verbally abusive and degrading. Says he is leaving but asks if we can be friends so he can keep the benefits til he leaves. I have been sleeping on couch because of his meaness and him saying all the time he is leaving me. Now he says I am denying him and that is what he is telling people. Also has been online on Zoosk site where he has "Winked" at over 40 women and said he wanted to meet about 20 of them. He also has been under psychiatric care for depression. Is now taking adderall from one Dr. And Effexor from another and neither one knows it and has started drinking.
 

Meowzltov

Freylekher Yid
Aug 3, 2014
18,679
4,497
64
Southern California
✟71,595.00
Country
United States
Gender
Female
Faith
Judaism
Marital Status
Celibate
Politics
US-Others
Your husband is sick. It doesn't excuse the abuse.

First let's get some clarity. Adderall is for ADHD and Effexor treats Major Depressive Disorder (although it can also be used for generalized anxiety). I am not seeing him and don't know his case, but I can say that some people exhibit depression by getting mean to family members. How long do you think he has been depressed?

Now let's look at inner clarity. Basically, what are you feeling, and what do you want? Be very specific. I feel ___ that ___ because ____. What I want is for him to
1.
2.
3.
And if he won't the this is what I will do next. ______________

These questions might help you with this:
How do you feel about him being online in social media winking at other women?
Same for other forms of abuse and degradation...
Do you think he is serious about leaving? Why or why not?
Why are you letting him decide whether he leaves or stays, when you have the option of kicking him out or leaving yourself?
Do you want him gone? This is probably the most important question.
Or do you think this toxic relationship is okay?
Is there any way besides a split up that can stop this toxic way of interacting, i.e. responding in an assertive fashion?

I can tell you this much. You can't control what he does. He is depressed and probably taking it out on you. If he has truly decided to leave you, it's not likely you will be able to stop him, and honestly if it's as bad as you say, won't that be something of a relief? You can always ask for marriage counseling, but I intuit that he's not going to be interested.

It is very easy once the abuse starts to fall into a "role" of the abuse victim, where you simply excuse the abuse, feel you deserve it, tell yourself it's more important to stay together than to be treated like a human being, etc. It's all lies -- don't give in to them, don't allow such thoughts to become habits. You deserve to be treated WELL. Even if he is depressed it doesn't excuse him treating you badly.

Let's say he is not really serious about leaving, and you are very much in love with him, and you hate divorce, and you want to stick it out until the depression abates. Then I suggest you get a counselor as well to learn assertiveness skills so that you can set good boundaries and stick up for yourself, and basically cope with his disfunction.

One more thing. About the 'withholding" stuff. Only you know if you are denying him or not. Men's sexuality is like a light switch. Women are like a motherboard. We need things just right in order to work properly. If we've been up all night with a screaming kid and know that in ten minutes we have to get up and get everyone breakfast, it isn't going to happen for us. If he's calling you bad ugly names and degrading you and then telling you to come to bed, I'm not sure if its that you are choosing not to so much as it that you simply CAN'T. So it's between you and God. If he gossips about you, it's just one other sin on his list of evils. Deal with it assertively.
 
Upvote 0

Ken Behrens

Well-Known Member
Sep 5, 2016
1,494
417
77
Milford, Delaware, USA
Visit site
✟40,275.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Let's hear from a man, too. (Me)

He wants to be friends. I could not be friends with someone who treats me like this. If he wants to leave, let him leave. Either he is married to you or he is not. If he is married to you, he is to treat you with love and respect.

Okay, he is sick, he is under treatment. Unless God is giving you the strength to be his nurse, and you can see his actions like a nurse working with Alzheimer's patients does, you are not called to stay with him. It should and can be an ultimatum - "get out of the house until you can treat me like a wife".

Through all this, keep praying for him. He may indeed be sick, and will get cured and return to you. But you are not a verbal punching bag in the meantime.
 
Upvote 0

Jane_Doe

Well-Known Member
Jun 12, 2015
6,658
1,042
117
✟115,321.00
Gender
Female
Faith
Husband is verbally abusive and degrading. Says he is leaving but asks if we can be friends so he can keep the benefits til he leaves. I have been sleeping on couch because of his meaness and him saying all the time he is leaving me.
That is NOT good. Have you tried counseling?
Now he says I am denying him and that is what he is telling people.
Sex (either the giving or receiving of it) should not be used as a weapon is couple disagreements. Rather, making love should the result of existent love. Don't bribe him with sex, don't allow him to negotiate for sex, don't deny sex as a punishment. And no, friends don't have sex-- he either treats you like a wife in all ways, or he treats you like a friend in all ways.
Also has been online on Zoosk site where he has "Winked" at over 40 women and said he wanted to meet about 20 of them.
That's cheating.
He also has been under psychiatric care for depression. Is now taking adderall from one Dr. And Effexor from another and neither one knows it and has started drinking.
Not telling the other docs and drinking is HIGHLY irresponsible of him and can have dramatic side effects from interactions. You can encourage him to tell, but ultimately it is his choice.

In regards to being in a relationship with someone who has mental health issues--
1) Mental health issues should not be stigmatized. They are just another health issue like any other.
2) Mental health issues are NOT an excuse for anyone's actions. What's wrong is wrong, the end.
3) You're not a doctor. Don't try to be one.
4) If he's working through his issues (going to counseling, doing his homework, honestly trying, etc), that's great. If he's not... you might need to put distance to protect yourself (might need to do this even if he is making progress). This distance need not be permeant, but might be needed for your health (physical and mental). Only you can make that call.
 
Upvote 0