"Why Does He Abuse Me?"

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#1 Jan 5 - 4PM
Anonymous (not verified)
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"Why Does He Abuse Me?"

Are you driving yourself crazy trying to figure out why he does it or did it? You are, aren't you? I've never read an article on any domestic violence website about this phenomenon. Women continually obsess, even after the relationship is over about why he did it. Women drive themselves UP THE WALL trying to understand why. Women feel as if they understood why then the pain would end. You may ask yourself: why did he hit me? why did he yell at me? why did he call me names? Why did he put me down? Why did he neglect me or abuse me emotionally or sexually? Why did he treat me so badly when I was so good to him? And some women take it a step further and don't even ask themselves these questions but immediately blame themselves saying, "He did it because I deserved it."

First of all, let me point out the answer to these questions is not because of anything you did or said. A man who doesn't abuse would leave you if he thought there was something "wrong" with you. However, abusive men stick around and abuse you and he will always, always blame it on you. So remember, it is never and was never YOUR fault. Abusers abuse. That is who he is and that's all there is to it. Perhaps he was abused as a child. Perhaps he is a psychopath suffering from a personality disorder. (For which, by the way there is no cure or even effective treatment, so don't get your hopes up) Perhaps he grew up watching his father abuse his mother. There are many reasons he may abuse. But knowing the answer is NOT going to end your pain, trust me. What will help you heal is acceptance. Accept he did what he did. Accept that you did indeed put up with it but that doesn't mean you deserved it. Accept that he is an abuser and there is or was nothing you could have done to stop him. Accept the relationship as a big mistake and vow to yourself never to put up with abuse again.

Abusers who complete programs for men who abuse often don't even change. Abusers almost always and I mean always abuse all women in their lives. So, don't go wondering if he is going to be better to someone else because she's somehow "better" than you. He is going to abuse any woman he dates because that is who he is. This is plain and simple.

Stop trying to figure it out. Accept it.

Remember the Following:
--Abusers rarely change.
---Abusers will abuse ALL women in their lives, not just you.
---Abusers do not abuse because of something you said or did.
---Abusers always blame the abuse on the victim.
---It is never, ever your fault. All adults are responsible for their actions. HE OWNS his actions.

http://www.geocities.com/andifekete/why.html

Jan 18 - 4PM
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Why Does He Abuse Me?

READ TOP POST ~~~~~~~~~ The truth will set you free... but first it will piss you off - Gloria Steinem Visit My Abuse Website
Jul 31 - 7PM
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

why is he so mean to me?

SEE TOP POST ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Articles & information for abuse victims - Updated Daily Online Coaching for Victims of Narcissists/ Psychopaths
Jun 25 - 4PM
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

why does he do it?

see top post
Jun 7 - 5PM
Carolyn
Carolyn's picture

Abusive behavior isn't a

Abusive behavior isn't a psychological phenomenon. There are many brain disorders that result in abuse. A gentleman in Texas went up into a tower in a University and shot a lot of people-he had been going to a psychiatrist because of his behavior, and when he was autoposied they found a very large tumour in his brain. When a baby is shaken it can cause brain damage that results in abusive, even murderous behavior as an adult. Some diseases like enchephalitis can cause atrophy in the brain and cause people, men and women alike, to be very physically abusive. There are blood chemistry disorders that can cause aggression like diabetes, lack of glycogen, severe problems with a lack of vitamins, any number of things can cause violence in people. The reason why someone does what they do is not what is the most important thing-your safety and well being is the most important thing. You were a victim, not because you deserved victimization, but because you were invovled with someone who had something terribly wrong with him that made him a danger to you.
Jun 6 - 1PM
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

How to Become Non-Person

How to Become a 'Non-Person' ~by Tigress Luv The thing you must know about your life is that you have choices. You have options. You have rights. You are not a belonging, you are not ruled by emotions, you are ruled by common sense. However, after enduring abuse we tend to disregard our common sense and logical thoughts - and let our emotions rule our life. This is the trap that keeps you hooked. Yet, there is hope. There is promise to a better life and a freedom above and beyond emotional and psychological imprisonment. If you are the victim of abuse - any kind of abuse - you should face the facts that you can't see while caught in the 'trap' of abuse....you are not responsible. The abuser may take out his rage on you, but do not make the common mistake of taking 'ownership' over their rage. It is not yours, it is theirs. Give it back to them and stop playing God! And remember, what is upsetting to the abuser goes deeper and beyond what you see. No, it isn't about how you cooked dinner, or that you forget to pick up the dry cleaning, or that the man in the corner of the restaurant 'looked' at you. You are just the doorway he needs to vent. By placing blame at your feet he is doing one of two things. One: he is attempting to control you. Two: he is attempting to turn his own shame outward by directing it onto others (you). This abolishes him from the inner turmoil and self-doubts that rage through his veins. Well, you ask, 'what about therapy?' What about it?! Therapy doesn't work in most cases. In fact, therapy is usually sought by the abuser simply as another means to 'control' you. They have absolutely no intention of seeking help, because they have absolutely no intention of doing anything - but keeping you. The sad truth is, abusers very rarely, if ever, stop their abusive ways. They swear they will, they promise anything. But usually all this means is the next time the abuse will be worse - because the next time they know that you may just leave them this time, after this 'last' and 'final' break of their promise. Fact - get out. Fiction - things can change if you just love them harder and try to get to the root of the problem. Fact - you can not get them help. You can only get you help. But how many times have you heard this? You are like the teenager who has grown up with the repeated advice that drugs are bad - yet continue to try them out anyway. Why? Could facts, experience, proof, and life's little instruction book only apply to other people? Are you special? Different? Is your abuser special and different from other abusers? Don't kid yourself! Drugs kill. Abusers kill. Those are the cold-hard facts and - yes - they do apply to you. It is up to you to take the action required to remove yourself, and your children if applicable, from any abusive situation. That is the only way possible to help the abuser. As long as you are there the atmosphere is unhealthy, the abuse escalates, the abuser becomes more aware of having a 'problem', the abuser denies responsibility for 'the problem', the abuser redirects the problem onto you. The abuser has no need to change. Do not believe the abuser when he claims the abuse is your fault. Never! And let's just say - for the sake of saying - that it is your fault. That you are a loser, a bad housewife, ignorant, stupid, forgetful, worthless, inconsiderate - whatever - does that justify abuse? NO! If my 11-year-old cousin was mentally handicapped would I be justified in abusing him? NO! My dog is not very intelligent and he chewed my slipper. Can I beat the dog? NO! Abuse is never justified. Never called for. Never excused. Never reasoned away. Abuse is abuse. Part of our rights as a human is to demand respect and to give respect in return. Physically, emotionally, verbally, or mentally abusive behavior demonstrates the highest level of disrespect. This is the man who loves you sooo much, but is just 'confused'? Quit kidding yourself. That's not love. That is an ill, sick person who clings to you with desperation one minute, and pulls you by the hair out onto the front lawn the next. Wake up! Why on Earth would someone opt to stay in a disrespectful, fearful relationship? Yes, I'm sure you do love him - at least the 'good side' of him. But what else is there to your love? Does he not make you feel embarrassed by his control and power over you - by his direct disrespect for you? Even if it was 'love' you felt for him - and not the flattery of 'his needing you' - the funny thing that you don't realize is that you can love someone and not be with them. It is sooooo possible. Of course leaving is a very difficult thing to do. The only time we really consider it is in the very throes of the abuse - the moment when we would leave barefoot and naked in the middle of a blizzard if need be. But then things calm down for a moment in time. The promises and remorse starts. The logic starts running through your head. Then the excuses - the fear, "Why leave? He'll just hunt me down and kill me." Doubtful. He may threaten, because threats have proven to be so successful in controlling you in the past. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call the police. You can relocate, you can get protection, you can 'call him' on his suicide threat. Take my word for it, he won't start systematically 'knocking off members of your family' until you return to him. Gee! "I can't leave him. I'm the only one that understands him. I feel so sorry for him. He really doesn't want to be this way." You feel sorry for him? You mean like you feel sorry for those little, innocent children dying in the hospital? Like you feel for the parents who are watching them die? THAT'S something to feel sorry about. Not an adult man who opts to revisit his pain over and over again, heaping it all on you, instead of being brave enough to face it head-on and take direct responsibility for it. Not someone who can charmingly smile and say good-bye to houseguests, then turn around and punch you the minute they pull out of the driveway. Part of this man's hook is his 'childlike hurt'. "Life is so good when he isn't abusing, I couldn't ask for a better man." Couldn't you? Yes, the hardest thing you may ever have to do is to find the courage to leave. You can leave, and you can make it on your own. Your situation isn't any different than many others - you may think it is special, but it's not. Just look at mine - no car, no driver's license, no money, no help from anyone, four kids, systemic lupus, emphysema, and MS. If someone in my situation can do it - then most assuredly, you can, too. And stop thinking that if you somehow 'change' the abuse will stop. You mean that if you can go through the rest of your 'one-and-only' life without ever burning a meal again, that everything will be honky-dory? You don't really believe that, do you? You don't need to change - he does. You can have the very best man and have the most wonderful marriage - without the high cost. Believe me! Whether emotional, verbal, mental, physical, or a combination of all - abuse wears you down. You go from a happy, care-free woman (remember those days before him) to days of consuming feelings of resentment, anger, depression and growing insecurity. When you look into the mirror you see a shell of a person, with no life left in their eyes. Go right now and look in the mirror - you'll be surprised to see the 'life' is no longer there. You are empty. Hollow. This relationship is not making you a 'whole' person, it is making you a 'non-person'. SHOCKING FACTS: * Over 1,300 women are killed each year by their husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends * An estimated three to four million women each year silently endure abuse or travel to hospital emergency rooms following an assault by their husbands or partners * In Canada, 1 woman is killed every 3 days by a man known to her * Nationwide, every 15 seconds a women is beaten, every three minutes a woman is raped, every six hours a women is killed * Last year, in Arizona alone, there were 21,931 crisis-shelter calls of domestic violence. A staggering fourteen percent of all homicides were domestic violence related. (Source: Arizona Republic, December 6, 2000). A woman had a better chance to become a victim by her Knight in Shining Armor, than a single woman out alone at night * Domestic violence is the #1 cause of emergency-room visits by women nationwide * Eighty-eight percent of women in prison are victims of domestic violence * More than 3 million children witness acts of domestic violence nationwide every year * Children of abused mothers are six times as likely to attempt suicide and 50 percent more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol http://abuse101.com/leaving.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Free articles & information for abuse victims: http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.com
Apr 30 - 2AM (Reply to #6)
nolongerafixer
nolongerafixer's picture

Excellent article!

To the point!
Apr 29 - 6PM (Reply to #5)
better off
better off's picture

Thanks for bumping this... I

Thanks for bumping this... I think that was the turning point when I started to get better. When I realized that "answers" weren't going to help. If I knew every last reason for every last thing it wouldn't change anything. It doesn't matter why he did it. He just did. Then I started letting go and moving ahead.
Jan 19 - 9AM (Reply to #2)
BlueMoon
BlueMoon's picture

I love this article....thank

I love this article....thank you.
Jan 19 - 4PM (Reply to #3)
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

article

I'm gonna make a post just for it ~~~~~~~~~ The truth will set you free... but first it will piss you off - Gloria Steinem Visit My Abuse Website
Apr 29 - 5PM (Reply to #4)
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Why Does He Abuse Me?

bumping this thread up ~~~~~~~~~ Moving Forward: Coaching for Victims Pathologicals Feelings buried alive never die. - Alice Miller