Was I wrong? [Analyzing a Past Relationship]
Quoted from where I wrote this else where so people catch the backstory:
We found the real perp and I kept my job, but the ugly rumors that I was a liar still flew around. But she was my glue, she made me happy. And I enjoyed talking to her. I think I began to fall in love with her. I dreamt about her in my dreams, I dreamt about our conversations, and I dreamt about her voice. Her words were like a kind of poisonous toxin and I became addicted, especially for all the things she did for me. I thought she understood me.
At the same time she was suffering from some problems at home with her over protective, Christian mother. All though we were both around the same age, her mother like to keep a strong hold on her. Manipulating her daughter and using her kind of like a human puppet. I think its when our relationship began to get really serious and we were more then ever enthralled in each other. That I began to see the nasty side effects of her. She made to many promises and being the way I am I follow rules and I have a strict kind of structure I take these promises at face value. I have to say I was not without flaws in this relationship. I knew my social skills were bad, especially when it was trying to connect an emotion with words. I get frustrated, but not particular with her, but with myself because I could never connect the proper words with the emotion.
I think the worse thing is when she started distancing herself from me slowly. I knew it had to do with her mother. Her mother had threatened to take the phone away from her. She listened a lot to her mother. Her mother didn't want us to be together, didn't like us talking. Her mother believed it was taking time from her real duties. Which was basically cleaning the house and doing things for her mother. Her mother demanded her daughter had full respect of her and forced her away from social events to do things for her. Not only that, but her mother made her own daughter feel indebted to her because she saved the daughter from an abusive father and the fact that she raised her.
So I when I sense distance my natural instinct is to go across the gap. I think my biggest mistake was trying to save her from Mother Dearest. Her mother had a big impact on her. I told her she needed to be in a new environment and had offered for her to stay with my place till she could figure some things out. When her mother wasn't imprisoning her I could see her deprogramming. Her mother had done more damage then the father did, the father never hit his daughter, he just kind of neglected her. And her mother was emotionally pulling her daughter's strings. Em[I'm using her initials so you don't get confused, Em is the girl I had fallen in love with] seemed to be doing better and kind of normal.
But Mother Dearest didn't like her daughter not being at her controlling finger tips. And threatened to kill herself if Em didn't come back. Its that time, when Em started getting worse. She started lying to me, and a lot of he things she told me months ago ended up be some parts of fictitious truth. I felt like I had been played, but then again I had never told her that I loved her more then friends. But I felt betrayed. It hurt more then anything in the world. Because I had gotten so involved, she protected me when no one else did. And she lied to me. And the more I saw it I could see the relationship Em had with her mom, as the same as mine.
If I really thought about it:
Em was abused by her father, her mother saved her and made her feel indebted for life
Em protected me from the abuse of coworkers and made me feel like I needed to pay her back
Em's mom said things to keep Em enthralled in her world
Every time Em and I had a fight, Em would say something that made me feel guilty and I'd be the one to apologize, but Em never apologized for the things she had done or about the original concern
Em was just like her mother. Em had no control in her life and she found someone whom she could control. I felt like a fool because somehow I was okay and had fallen in love with it. Em and I broke off our friendship late October, beginning of November this year. For a few weeks I was extremely depressed and sad. I couldn't eat, couldn't think, and I couldn't stop myself from crying. Feeling hurt. Worse was Em was still sending me messages and she said things and blamed the whole situation on me. Which made me feel guilty so you could say her toxin stuck on me.
But on through late November early December of this year as I read her last message did I not care. It didn't hurt any more. Because I knew it wasn't my fault. Her mom threatening to commit suicide wasn't my fault. None of it was my fault. And it was then that Em's words had no more power on me. I gathered my strength and now, even though it stings. I am happier then I have ever been. It took the relationship with Em to realize that I'm kind of okay being alone.
Because what hurts to me the most, is loving someone and then being pulled away. Being alone means I can invest in small friendships here and there and still do the things I love without being pulled away from someone.
I'm happier then I was before because Em was a parasite that was slowly emotionally draining me. But it took that much to realize something inside of me.
So, I analyzing my past relationship. And I remember all her excuses of why she couldn't be with me twenty-four seven. But then according to her, people didn't hang out all the time together.
But I remember the people at work, after work they'd all go out. They'd plan things for Saturdays.
So, I got frustrated a bit. Because imo, people do hang out twenty-four seven. People do spend more then 10 minutes with each other. She thought ten minutes, once a week was good enough. So I got mad. She got mad at me for being "abusive", "controlling", and "manipulating her from responsible duties".
Was I?
I always fought with her about it, denied that I was being abusive, or controlling. I would think 10 mins, once week is a little well....
The worse was she began to say she loved me. So do lovers really spend once a week only for 10 mins?
One of her other excuses when she had to do something and her mom was locking her away in the house well....she would tell me things like
"I have a real life"
And I got mad about that too. Because if she loved me, wouldn't you make sure the people you loved were part of your real life?
Was I wrong in this relationship? Was I the abusive one? Was I manipulating and controlling? I don't see how I was. I don't see it all.
As you can see this relationship still has me extremely choked up. I can't stop thinking about it now and then.
HopeGrows
Veteran
Joined: 5 Nov 2009
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,565
Location: In exactly the right place at exactly the right time.
Sorry, I'm not really following you: did this girl live with you? Were you friends or did you have a romantic relationship with her? I don't know how to interpret her telling you she loved you. Did she mean she loved you as a friend, or that she was in love with you?
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What you feel is what you are and what you are is beautiful...
Wow! You're saying that her mother is controlling and manipulative, but then you're insisting on her being with you 24/7 and demanding to know why when she fails to comply.
Pot. Kettle. Black.
No, couples aren't necessarily together 24/7. Yes, some couples worlds revolve around each other, and some couples work together and socialise together and live together and that works for them. I think the kind of couples who live, work and play together 24/7 are fairly rare, though, because that's quite suffocating. And it helps if you have your own friends and your own interests.
Some couples work together and live together but take time out to socialise with their own friends and pursue their own interests and activities. Some couples work or study in different places but they socialise more together and have common interests and they live together. Some couples live apart, even in different cities or countries, and that works for them.
There is no right or wrong answer. Couples do whatever is comfortable for both of them. And that's a matter of preference and also negotiation. It sounds as though you didn't negotiate or compromise very well, she went from being with a manipulative and controlling mother to being with someone who was equally manipulative and controlling.
Personally, I've had a couple of relationships where the man's parents came between us. In one instance, he was a different ethnic background and his parents wanted him to settle down with someone similar. After a couple of years, he was still saying that he loved me and wanted to marry me, but his parents would never approve. In another relationship, a bf's mother disapproved of me (but I didn't take it too personally, as she apparently disapproved of all his previous girlfriends too, she was an insufferable snob).
I learned, though, that if there is a problem with the parents disapproving, then your partner has to make a decision whether to stand up to their parents and tell them straight that they are standing by their choice of partner, (as your gf did, but she was wrong to then capitulate to emotional blackmail), and if they don't they you shouldn't wait for them too long. If a person has manipulative and controlling parents, I figure life's too short to deal with those issues.
If there are problems with the in-laws, then in my experience the relationship is probably doomed and it's better to cut your losses and move on.
No. I didn't want her around 24/7.
But ten minutes once a week isn't enough.
An hour, maybe to see a movie once a week. Would have been fine.
Ten minutes we can't catch up, we can't talk really, etc.
Relationships of any kind generally require negotiation when one or both parties aren't satisfied. The abuse of your past friend and manipulation of her mother makes this relationship come off as somewhat toxic.
However, friendships can have their pitfalls, to be honest I don't know anyone who hangs out 24/7 who doesn't live together.
I mean i'll tell you this, if the amount of time you guys were unable to talk wasn't enough for you, you absolutely made the right decision.
But it comes off (and I know this happens with AS) that you guys had a very difficult time communicating the exact nature of your relationship. Ten minutes a week for a friendship.... ok, depends on the friendship. I'm friends with people I haven't talked to in months.
Ten minutes for a romantic relationship? Is generally seen as a little different. You should've followed up and carried on a dialogue as to what you actually wanted to be with her. Its possible you liked her more than a friend and required more than very casual brief get togethers.
Also your arguing against her feelings based on the fact that you were hurt. When people are in controlling, abusive relationships.. with a person they do.. or rather should love (a parent) we can feel ashamed.
This is kinda moot tho.. I can see her getting "angry" and saying something she didn't mean, controlling or manipulating through a guilt trip, but saying you're abusive is so much of a stretch that even if you decide you're wrong, she has a LOT to work on before it'd be considered a healthy relationship. In no way was anything and I mean anything you said, coming off as even remotely abusive.
Believe it or not.. i'm the same, in that situation if you're not satisfied and want to keep the relationship.. you negotiate, you have discussions, because other people tend to not have the same standards as you or I. I don't know her schedule, whether she works, whether she has siblings, or takes care of her mom, or has a job.
But I will say ultimately that while demanding more time wasn't wrong (If it was a necessity) Its not normal for general friendships.
I'll also say this, if you truly see your life without her as better and have no regrets forget her, if not.. i'd seriously consider having a heart to heart and clearing the air before throwing away something that will later on, be permanently unretrievable.
I don't think you were in the wrong, no. It is not unreasonable to want to spend more than ten minutes with a significant other per week. Most couples spend much more time together than that although most do not have to be together 24/7. I think, from what it sounds like, she was avoiding you and using her strict mother as an excuse. It sounds like there was definitely some emotional manipulation on her part too. You were right to get out of that, and feel good about it ending.
I do feel better without her. I have no regrets. But sometimes...I'm the type to second guess myself.
I really want to not be the bad guy.
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