Fnord wrote:
Skewed Normalcy: Abusive men are what she grew up with, so she believes deep down inside that only abusive men could possibly love her, and that any man who treats her nice is either (a) gay, (b) setting her up for epic cruelty, or (c) defective.
Martyr Syndrome: For whatever reason, she believes that she deserves nothing better than to be trapped in an abusive relationship. The beatings are painful reminders of her hopeless inadequacy as a human being, but at least she's getting attention.
As a person who has been in and out of abusive relationships her whole life (the last longterm one being the worst, and the only one that resulted in actual PHYSICAL beatings, as well as longterm physical damage), these are the two that ring the most bells for me.
I only actually realised these two issues were problems for me AFTER I finally walked out on the last guy....and I'm glad I did realise, as uncomfortable as they are to process, because being aware is keeping me away from the type of guys I naturally gravitate towards.