“You sadly report your best friend’s husband is cheating. Instead of sharing your dismay, he becomes defensive. ‘Well, he hasn’t been happy in that marriage,’ or ‘People have affairs. That’s life.’ Condemning others means condemning himself—and he’s not about to go there.”Tagged: Cheating, defensive, Marriage, Unhappy
“Optimizing precious moments with a lover is a balancing act, so he’s counting minutes. ‘It won’t raise any red flags if I’m home by 6:00pm on the dot,’ he rationalizes. Or, ‘If I call her every day at noon, she won’t get suspicious.’ He’s drawing timelines in the sand, and being uncharacteristically…”Tagged: Cheating, timelines, Time, schedule
“Her fender bender wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t called just as she pulled out of the driveway. If you hadn’t asked him to help out more with the kids, he could’ve put in more time at work and gotten that promotion. In fact, mostly everything that goes wrong is your fault.”Tagged: Emotional Abuse, Blame, Fault
“You’re really sad about putting your dog down, your uncle’s illness, or losing that road race. You could really use a shoulder to cry on. But you know you can’t rely on your partner for that. In order to stay in control, emotional abusers need your focus to be on them. Their tolerance for your woes…”Tagged: Emotional Abuse, Control, upset
“Seems like everyone is complimenting your new wardrobe, recent weight loss, or latest blogpost. Everyone, that is, except the one person who should be leading the cheering section. Your emotionally abusive partner is far more invested in tearing you down and keeping you down. He really doesn’t want…”Tagged: Emotional Abuse, Wardrobe, compliments, Praise