Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Discussions about negotiating relationships between faithful LDS believers and the apostates who love them. This applies in particular to mixed-faith marriages, but relations with children, parents, siblings, friends, and ward members is very welcome.
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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Wed Jan 06, 2021 1:42 pm

Angel wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:52 pm
I was the 1st out of the church in our marriage. Some dark stuff with abuse of kids by brother-in-law, and DH had a few issues that I kicked him out of the house for. I was prepared for divorce, am able to support myself and kids - have a really good job and work community that has been my salvation through it all. I gave him another chance, he came back changed. Our entire family is out of the church now, thank goodness. I'm not sure how long it will last, but right now everything is really good. It took kicking him out, hitting rock bottom etc.

Silence is not a good thing. Each situation is unique... the right thing to do is usually the hard thing to do. A healthy relashionship is not codependent... I think it's better when you realize you are just fine on your own. You can think more logically, less emotion, if you are not insecure and 100% fine being on your own. They are more polite when they know you don't "need" them. Seems like needing someone =codependent. The saying - put your own airmask on first before you worry about others applies I think. All relashionships improve when you are 100% self-reliant, financially and emotionally self-reliant. Take care of yourself, then you can better interact with others in my opinion.

Best wishes, good to read everyone's words of wisdom.
Thank you Angel, I appreciate your own experience shared. Right now, I think the incompatibilities between my wife and I are so great that I don’t see her having the capacity to change to meet my needs or me to change to meet her needs. She feels the threat of me leaving her, we even talked about it as something I’ve been thinking about doing. She was more polite for a time after that, but then things settled back into how they were.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Wed Jan 06, 2021 1:54 pm

Cnsl1 wrote:
Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:05 am
I feel for you, deepthinker, and hope things work out.

I think you've been given some good advice, and I'll just add a little based on experience, research, and training. Understand that all we have to go on is one side, and just bits and pieces of that side.

Something that gives me hope for your marriage is that you say she seeks physical affection, which presumably is her primary love language. If she still wants to cuddle, that's something. She still wants to love you and be loved by you. Let's stay with the love language idea. So what's yours? You say you want deep conversations and emotional acceptance, but what does that mean, really? What is deep? What does emotional acceptance look like, really? I would argue she also wants emotional acceptance and she's seeking it through physical touch. Based on what you've said, I would guess your primary love language might be affirmation, or words of affirmation. How would it feel for her to compliment you, to express admiration for the rough spiritual journey you've gone through? She might not be one who can bite into a religious or intellectual discussion with gusto, but she can acknowledge your intelligence, your thought process. I may be way off, but my guess is that it might be more simple than you're making it.

As much as I respect Alas's wisdom and thoughts on this, I am not sure attaching to a priesthood holder (or status/wealth provider) is so much a love language in and of itself, but maybe a manifestation of the language of gifts. That being said, I've wondered if "achievement" could be a love language for some--feeling love when your sig other achieves goals that are important to you. I'm interested in what other love languages there might be... my wife used to think hers wasn't identified by Chapman and maybe she's right, but eventually we figured out that what she thought was more unique could be a form of quality time. We don't want to bend a language to fit Chapman's five, but I do think he was pretty astute and the five do seem to be pretty ubiquitous. I DO believe that many TBM wives feel a very strong desire for a righteous priesthood holder, which seems obvious based on our doctrine. I don't believe having one necessarily fills their emotional bucket, though, which may be part of the reason why there are so many depressed TBM wives.

But back to Deepthinker's dilemma... I know I'm just a stranger on a forum, but I would encourage you to take heart in the fact she's still seeking to feel love with you. My suspicion is that she isn't as much unwilling or unable to fill yours, but is ignorant. I suspect you need affirmation and quality time. Quality time isn't necessarily quantity, and quality time needs differ from one person to another, I've found. My wife likes long drives in the car just being together, which drives me nuts. I want to have deep conversations on the drive. She does not. If she's driving, she gets annoyed if I'm on my phone. She doesn't necessarily want to talk to me, but she wants me present with her. It boggles my mind, but there it is.

I have also learned that building one's own foundation of self worth and self esteem helps greatly. You don't have to get everything from your spouse. We know that, but sometimes it helps to have someone else point it out to us. In this day and age, for whatever reason, we turn to our sig other for more things, such as conversation, emotional support, validation, than we ever did in the past. Our outside support has shrunk, on average. This places more emphasis on that relationship to meet multiple needs. Despite having social media up the wazoo, research suggests that we still rely on our spouses for much more than our parents and grandparents did. So, maybe a more realistic appraisal of our expectations may be warranted. Maybe.

Finally, I don't put much stock in the myers-briggs personality test. If it helps, sure why not.. but it's lacking in validity. Also, regarding personality... It may be more beneficial to look at how people are able to step outside their "type" when their backs are against the wall, or when they have to act in a way that's uncomfortable for them.

Good luck with your marriage. I should have started by saying that while I'm a mental health professional with advanced degrees, I'm definitely not a marriage therapist, so take any advice with a big grain of salt. I would suggest that you continue trying to show her love in her languages, and get better at expressing what you need, but for her sake make it something real and tangible. What can she do.. specifically. Don't tell her you need emotional support, cuz she doesn't (and I wouldn't) know what the hell that means. Give her something she can do, and make sure she understands how that would look like, and that how that makes you feel. Love snowballs. It's completely possible for two people to love each other and not share religious beliefs. People do it all the time.

Also... Alas likely has more experience with this sort of thing, so keep listening to her.
Thank you Cnsl1, your experience through your own life and your research and training are valuable and your lengthy reply was heart-felt. I know there are two sides to my marriage and my wife’s view is different from my own.

I’ve met with three marriage counselors on my own, and I’ve gone through many aspects of my marriage. My wife is seeking physical affection because of the threat of me leaving her. She is trying to get closer to me in her way, in her love language, but I can’t communicate that back when the love language I need isn’t communicated in return. Love shouldn’t be a one way communication, and I had fallen out of love with her so I couldn’t really express love that wasn’t there.

I’ve had many conversations with her, about how I don’t know how to feel connected to her. Our love languages are different, and you’re right I need affirmation and quality time. I’ve felt like an afterthought to her for years before I started telling her how I was feeling. On the advice of one of the therapists I met with, I’ve given her specific things she can do to make me feel like she is interested in me and communicating love to me. I would love for her to express some level of acknowledgement for the pain I've experienced in my faith journey and I've told her that. Instead, I feel anger and resentment from her when the discussion of my faith journey comes up.

I went through another depression last year, when nothing changed. She was wanting more intimacy during this depression and I wasn’t interested, and finally told her why, told her specific thoughts I had of ending my life. Her response to me seemed like disdain, she says it was shock. I can accept what she said, but her actions or lack of action after telling her this spoke volumes to me. You’d expect someone who loves you after you tell them this that they’d ask how you’re doing, check in on you, to express some empathy (she’s been through depression before). Her only comment about it was how bad she would feel if I died, which makes it about how SHE feels and not how I feel, which hurts even more.

Almost everything I try to express to her is turned into a “she doesn’t feel that way” or “she doesn’t see it that way” response from her. Apart from that one comment, I received nothing but silence on the topic of my depression.

I'm fine with a give and take, not expecting her to have deep conversations for instance, but the marriage has felt like me giving with not enough in return.

Regarding the getting needs met from others, I understand that. The problem is that anytime I want to go somewhere with one of my siblings, meet them for lunch or dinner, or go on a weekend trip with my brothers I get sooo much pushback from her. She doesn't want me to go do things with other people and when I do she's upset with me when I get back.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Wed Jan 06, 2021 1:56 pm

alas wrote:
Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:24 pm
I read through Cnsl1’s post just because it was new, then glanced back to the original post and between the two, it triggered a thought.

I think Cnsl1 is correct that your wife doesn’t know how to help you feel supported emotionally. Then I saw when you talked about being suicidal. Yup, that is an example of her trying to help, but falling on her face because she doesnt know how.

One experience in my own marriage was that I would be feeling something, doesn’t matter what. Instead of hearing me, I felt like he was blaming me or criticizing me. When we had played that game lots of times we backed up and looked at what was happening. He felt like he WAS helping by trying to fix the problem. Well, he was no more capable of fixing things than he was of flying, but he thought what I needed was the problem fixed. Like your wife saw the depression as because you had pulled away from the church and so she told you how she would fix it if she was in that situation. But she was wrong both about what you needed from her, and the root of the problem. She isn’t you, so how she thinks she would fix the problem doesn’t work for you. It might work for her if she is depressed, but it just made you feel worse because she didn’t get it.

So, back to me and my husband. I told him that he cannot fix things and I don’t want him to try. I want him to just shut the f up and listen. Just listen and tell me he is hearing me. That he hears how I feel. That he sees me struggle with it. That he is trying to understand. He needs to ask questions about what he hears me say, to make sure he is understanding. NOT try to fix it. He is a fixer. He wants solutions, not empathy. So he was offering me his solutions, rather than offering empathy.

So, your wife might be a fixer, rather than a listener. If that is the case, Teach her how to stop trying to fix things and just listen and communicate that she is listening.
Yeah, I understand that. I don't see her as someone who tries to fix things instead of listen. Her focus is too much on her for even that.

I’ve told my wife the same things, over and over, expressed the same things again and again. Told her that I need to feel like she understands what I’m expressing and feeling and “hug” me within that space. I honestly don’t know if she’s capable of expressing the empathy I need.

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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Red Ryder » Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:53 am

The advice in this thread has been wonderful to read and has helped me reflect on my relationship.

DT, it’s never easy to be pleasy. At some point you’ll know the right decision for you. That decision will bring both relief and heartache. I’ve watched a brother and a few friends go through a divorce. It’s tough but people are resilient.

Have you penciled out in your mind what a divorce will look like? The challenges? The rewards? The unknown complications?

Please reach out if you need real people to talk to. We have a pretty good group of guys, some who you have already met at lunch on your travels here. We‘ve all experienced portions of this in some form or fashion. From marriage counseling to currently pending divorce.
“It always devolves to Pantaloons. Always.” ~ Fluffy

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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by alas » Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:42 am

Deepthinker wrote:
Wed Jan 06, 2021 1:56 pm
alas wrote:
Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:24 pm
I read through Cnsl1’s post just because it was new, then glanced back to the original post and between the two, it triggered a thought.

I think Cnsl1 is correct that your wife doesn’t know how to help you feel supported emotionally. Then I saw when you talked about being suicidal. Yup, that is an example of her trying to help, but falling on her face because she doesnt know how.

One experience in my own marriage was that I would be feeling something, doesn’t matter what. Instead of hearing me, I felt like he was blaming me or criticizing me. When we had played that game lots of times we backed up and looked at what was happening. He felt like he WAS helping by trying to fix the problem. Well, he was no more capable of fixing things than he was of flying, but he thought what I needed was the problem fixed. Like your wife saw the depression as because you had pulled away from the church and so she told you how she would fix it if she was in that situation. But she was wrong both about what you needed from her, and the root of the problem. She isn’t you, so how she thinks she would fix the problem doesn’t work for you. It might work for her if she is depressed, but it just made you feel worse because she didn’t get it.

So, back to me and my husband. I told him that he cannot fix things and I don’t want him to try. I want him to just shut the f up and listen. Just listen and tell me he is hearing me. That he hears how I feel. That he sees me struggle with it. That he is trying to understand. He needs to ask questions about what he hears me say, to make sure he is understanding. NOT try to fix it. He is a fixer. He wants solutions, not empathy. So he was offering me his solutions, rather than offering empathy.

So, your wife might be a fixer, rather than a listener. If that is the case, Teach her how to stop trying to fix things and just listen and communicate that she is listening.
Yeah, I understand that. I don't see her as someone who tries to fix things instead of listen. Her focus is too much on her for even that.

I’ve told my wife the same things, over and over, expressed the same things again and again. Told her that I need to feel like she understands what I’m expressing and feeling and “hug” me within that space. I honestly don’t know if she’s capable of expressing the empathy I need.
You know as a social worker, I saw a lot of people with broken marriages. I hate to say this, but if you were my client, I would suggest that you consider the possibility that your marriage is broken and your wife incapable of giving you what you need in a relationship.

Some people are not capable of empathy, due to personality disorders that are sadly not their fault, but still they are not capable of change. I don’t know your wife well enough to even guess if that is the case, but I just wanted to toss it out for you to consider.

Now, if you get other things from the marriage, you can find a guy friend to give you understanding, and just accept that your wife cannot give you that, but she can give you other things.

I grew up with a father who had many symptoms of personality disorder. He might have fit narcissistic personality disorder, or psycho pathetic PD, or something in between. He didn’t comprehend obeying the law other than he had learned to stay out of trouble, so he didn’t have that trait of PPD. But many leaders of business, government, and religion are PPD, because they have learned how to stay out of trouble, but they still hurt everyone around them with their inability to care about the well being of others. But you know, my father still had a lot of things I love about him. But to be around him, a person had to know that he was not capable of caring about your well being and know how to protect themselves. Rather than cut myself off from him, I choose to learn to live with his limits.

So, learning to accept your wife’s limits is also an option. But you have to know how to meet your own needs else where.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:48 pm

Red Ryder wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:53 am
The advice in this thread has been wonderful to read and has helped me reflect on my relationship.

DT, it’s never easy to be pleasy. At some point you’ll know the right decision for you. That decision will bring both relief and heartache. I’ve watched a brother and a few friends go through a divorce. It’s tough but people are resilient.

Have you penciled out in your mind what a divorce will look like? The challenges? The rewards? The unknown complications?

Please reach out if you need real people to talk to. We have a pretty good group of guys, some who you have already met at lunch on your travels here. We‘ve all experienced portions of this in some form or fashion. From marriage counseling to currently pending divorce.
Thanks RR! There are some excellent, thoughtful responses in this thread. A significant amount of experience that has given me some insights too.

I know, I was able to talk to Kish a few months ago on the phone and he said basically the same thing. That I’ll know if and when I’m ready for divorce. I feel like I’m on the edge of that right now and inching closer. Part of me just wants to make it until after my daughter’s wedding next month, because I don’t want that kind of disruption ruining her wedding.

Yes, I’ve been looking into all the challenges, rewards, and other results that can come through a divorce. I’ve talked to a few attorneys, and I’ve been taking some steps toward preparing. Based on what I know about my wife after 25 years, the moment I initiate a divorce, she will explode with fury and hurt, and I understand the devastation she'll feel. I do worry about her reaction, and how that might hurt the kids.

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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:50 pm

alas wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:42 am
Deepthinker wrote:
Wed Jan 06, 2021 1:56 pm
alas wrote:
Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:24 pm
I read through Cnsl1’s post just because it was new, then glanced back to the original post and between the two, it triggered a thought.

I think Cnsl1 is correct that your wife doesn’t know how to help you feel supported emotionally. Then I saw when you talked about being suicidal. Yup, that is an example of her trying to help, but falling on her face because she doesnt know how.

One experience in my own marriage was that I would be feeling something, doesn’t matter what. Instead of hearing me, I felt like he was blaming me or criticizing me. When we had played that game lots of times we backed up and looked at what was happening. He felt like he WAS helping by trying to fix the problem. Well, he was no more capable of fixing things than he was of flying, but he thought what I needed was the problem fixed. Like your wife saw the depression as because you had pulled away from the church and so she told you how she would fix it if she was in that situation. But she was wrong both about what you needed from her, and the root of the problem. She isn’t you, so how she thinks she would fix the problem doesn’t work for you. It might work for her if she is depressed, but it just made you feel worse because she didn’t get it.

So, back to me and my husband. I told him that he cannot fix things and I don’t want him to try. I want him to just shut the f up and listen. Just listen and tell me he is hearing me. That he hears how I feel. That he sees me struggle with it. That he is trying to understand. He needs to ask questions about what he hears me say, to make sure he is understanding. NOT try to fix it. He is a fixer. He wants solutions, not empathy. So he was offering me his solutions, rather than offering empathy.

So, your wife might be a fixer, rather than a listener. If that is the case, Teach her how to stop trying to fix things and just listen and communicate that she is listening.
Yeah, I understand that. I don't see her as someone who tries to fix things instead of listen. Her focus is too much on her for even that.

I’ve told my wife the same things, over and over, expressed the same things again and again. Told her that I need to feel like she understands what I’m expressing and feeling and “hug” me within that space. I honestly don’t know if she’s capable of expressing the empathy I need.
You know as a social worker, I saw a lot of people with broken marriages. I hate to say this, but if you were my client, I would suggest that you consider the possibility that your marriage is broken and your wife incapable of giving you what you need in a relationship.

Some people are not capable of empathy, due to personality disorders that are sadly not their fault, but still they are not capable of change. I don’t know your wife well enough to even guess if that is the case, but I just wanted to toss it out for you to consider.

Now, if you get other things from the marriage, you can find a guy friend to give you understanding, and just accept that your wife cannot give you that, but she can give you other things.

I grew up with a father who had many symptoms of personality disorder. He might have fit narcissistic personality disorder, or psycho pathetic PD, or something in between. He didn’t comprehend obeying the law other than he had learned to stay out of trouble, so he didn’t have that trait of PPD. But many leaders of business, government, and religion are PPD, because they have learned how to stay out of trouble, but they still hurt everyone around them with their inability to care about the well being of others. But you know, my father still had a lot of things I love about him. But to be around him, a person had to know that he was not capable of caring about your well being and know how to protect themselves. Rather than cut myself off from him, I choose to learn to live with his limits.

So, learning to accept your wife’s limits is also an option. But you have to know how to meet your own needs else where.
I’ve not only considered that possibility alas, I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that it is broken and that her and I are just incapable of giving each other what we need. My wife has said she can’t give me the specific things I’ve told her I need, not that she won’t, but that she’s not capable. It’s feels like what I’m asking her to change is unfair because she just can’t.

My last marriage therapist, from just a few months ago, came to the same conclusion about my marriage and suggested that if I can, wait until after my daughter’s wedding before moving forward with a divorce because she believes my wife could basically ruin my daughter’s wedding with her reaction to a divorce.

I believe my wife is a covert narcissist, or at least exhibits many of the attributes of one. I’m not saying she is a bad person, like you said personality disorders are not someone’s fault. Between that and her specific kind of OCD, I just haven’t been able to reach her on a level that makes me feel we’re connecting.

I do care about her. I do love her. I can’t help but think about the 25 years we’ve spent together, and raising 5 kids. There’s so many experiences I’ve shared with her. I just don’t know how to be in love with her and I don’t know that I will ever receive enough needs from her to satisfy me in the relationship. I really have been trying to live with her limits for years, and didn't recognize how much I had been living with until I started evaluating my marriage more after my beliefs changed.

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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Cnsl1 » Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:42 am

Call me and optimist but I think, based on what I've read about your situation, that your marriage is salvageable and that bliss is possible.

Of course, I'm like one blind man touching an elephant. I only have a small picture and only the small picture you've opened up.

Still, there are a few things suggesting hope, particularly that she wouldn't want to spilt up. Still, she admits being incapable of doing the things. Hmm, then maybe ask her what she CAN give? What are the things she does that you like? Can she do more of those things? Compromise. Can she be happy with you spending time with your brother?

If she REALLY has a personality disorder, I don't think you'd had been married this long. I would bet against any PD marriage lasting 25 years.

I could be wrong, but what if I'm not? If the approach you've been making isn't working, try a different approach. What about trying hard to fill her emotional buckets for a month and see if she's more receptive to giving you a compliment. Does she usually initiate sex?

And the hard question that nobody asked... Do you already have someone else you're interested in?

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:54 am

Cnsl1 wrote:
Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:42 am
Call me and optimist but I think, based on what I've read about your situation, that your marriage is salvageable and that bliss is possible.

Of course, I'm like one blind man touching an elephant. I only have a small picture and only the small picture you've opened up.

Still, there are a few things suggesting hope, particularly that she wouldn't want to spilt up. Still, she admits being incapable of doing the things. Hmm, then maybe ask her what she CAN give? What are the things she does that you like? Can she do more of those things? Compromise. Can she be happy with you spending time with your brother?

If she REALLY has a personality disorder, I don't think you'd had been married this long. I would bet against any PD marriage lasting 25 years.

I could be wrong, but what if I'm not? If the approach you've been making isn't working, try a different approach. What about trying hard to fill her emotional buckets for a month and see if she's more receptive to giving you a compliment. Does she usually initiate sex?

And the hard question that nobody asked... Do you already have someone else you're interested in?
I really appreciate your optimism! I’m a very positive person myself, and prior to a few years ago I had never experienced depression.

She doesn’t want to split up because there are many things she’d have to confront that are outside her comfort zone. In a way, I’ve spoiled her. I always felt that by doing everything she asks was how I earned her love. I went with the obedience=love teaching of the church and used that in many of my relationships, using people pleasing behavior. I’ve been changing that over the last few years by establishing boundaries and it’s caused more friction in our marriage.

She wasn’t like the way she is now when we first married, and I’ve told her that she has changed. Except for the last 7 years (which is when I first opened up to her about my change in beliefs), we’ve had the church and the kids to keep us glued together. I kept the “eternal perspective” that any issues in our marriage would be worked out with our being together forever. I never allowed myself to explore relationships much before meeting her, and I was ignorant about what a healthy relationship should be. I didn't even know what I wanted in a relationship when I first met her, other than a "happy" Mormon temple marriage.

I’ve asked her what she can give. She said she would go through a mixed-faith marriage workbook with me, that she would spend some time talking to me and giving me more focus. She said she would find other things besides physical touch that we could do to connect. None of that happened.

No, she won’t compromise on me doing more things with my siblings and I have no close friends. A few years ago, I wanted to join Bill Reel's local group. She was so upset, and I feared her wrath enough that I didn't join.

There are not many things she does that I like and it feels as though there are not many things that I do that she likes. Almost everything she does with me feels like it is about her or for her.

When I first told her about my change in beliefs, it was me who feared the end of our marriage. It took me months before I finally had the courage to tell her. I was so relieved that she said she wasn’t going to leave me if I left the church, and I committed myself to trying to deepen our relationship, to try to find ways we could connect that didn’t involve Mormon beliefs or the church.

That worked for a while, until I realized I was doing the majority of the heavy lifting and there wasn’t much reciprocated. I did what you’re saying, I tried to fill her emotional buckets for a long time. I’m never one to lose hope or give up easily.

Her and I think so differently and I can see now that we always have. I just masked some parts of what I think and feel for a long time, because I thought I had to. She outright denies parts of who I am…denies I’m a people pleaser, denies we’re in a codependent relationship, denies I’m an empath.

My sense of humor annoys her, she dislikes the poetry I write and criticizes it, sometimes criticizes me in front of the kids, gaslights, manipulates, says I’m unworthy, has said she’s accepted that we’re just friends in this life since we won’t be together in the eternities, has told me to just get our temple marriage annulled since I don’t believe in it, and so many other things. All of this has been pushing me away for the last 7 years.

She has refused to go to marriage counseling, and still does even though she knows I’m contemplating leaving her. So, for the last few years I’ve been going on my own at times, when depression hits, and started to put together what my marriage entailed, all the dynamics. It’s where I learned I was in a co-dependent relationship with her, that I’ve been enabling her for years. My last therapist said that me leaving is an opportunity for my wife’s growth, and I believe that is needed. Me staying…those changes for her will not happen, I’ve lost hope that they will.

No, I don’t have someone else I’m interested in.

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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Cnsl1 » Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:04 am

Well, that's a bit more information.

My best to you and your kids as you navigate whatever you do next.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:20 pm

Cnsl1 wrote:
Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:04 am
Well, that's a bit more information.

My best to you and your kids as you navigate whatever you do next.
Just wanted to say thank you. For your kind words and caring. You did help solidify things about my marriage, from your questions and pushing me to evaluate my marriage harder.

I am making some plans toward divorce after my daughter's wedding.

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Red Ryder
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Red Ryder » Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:27 am

Deepthinker wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:20 pm
Cnsl1 wrote:
Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:04 am
Well, that's a bit more information.

My best to you and your kids as you navigate whatever you do next.
Just wanted to say thank you. For your kind words and caring. You did help solidify things about my marriage, from your questions and pushing me to evaluate my marriage harder.

I am making some plans toward divorce after my daughter's wedding.
Wait a month so that the daughter’s anniversary and the divorce don’t share a calendar page. It will make it easier for the hallmark cards. 🤪
“It always devolves to Pantaloons. Always.” ~ Fluffy

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Linked
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Linked » Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:44 pm

Deepthinker wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:20 pm
I am making some plans toward divorce after my daughter's wedding.
I'm sure that was a hard decision to come to, but from what you have posted you have clearly done all that could be reasonably asked of you. I wish you luck as you navigate the rapids ahead and hopefully you come out the other side to smooth sailing. Keep us posted.
"I would write about life. Every person would be exactly as important as any other. All facts would also be given equal weightiness. Nothing would be left out. Let others bring order to chaos. I would bring chaos to order" - Kurt Vonnegut

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:16 pm

Red Ryder wrote:
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:27 am
Deepthinker wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:20 pm
Cnsl1 wrote:
Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:04 am
Well, that's a bit more information.

My best to you and your kids as you navigate whatever you do next.
Just wanted to say thank you. For your kind words and caring. You did help solidify things about my marriage, from your questions and pushing me to evaluate my marriage harder.

I am making some plans toward divorce after my daughter's wedding.
Wait a month so that the daughter’s anniversary and the divorce don’t share a calendar page. It will make it easier for the hallmark cards. 🤪
Yes, planning on waiting at least a month after the wedding. I wouldn't want those two kinds of events to be a shared anniversary or anything.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:17 pm

Linked wrote:
Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:44 pm
Deepthinker wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:20 pm
I am making some plans toward divorce after my daughter's wedding.
I'm sure that was a hard decision to come to, but from what you have posted you have clearly done all that could be reasonably asked of you. I wish you luck as you navigate the rapids ahead and hopefully you come out the other side to smooth sailing. Keep us posted.
Thank you Linked. I will give an update after the wedding if not before.

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jfro18
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by jfro18 » Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:16 pm

So sorry you're going through this and that you're having to juggle all of it with a wedding coming up. I wish I had good words of advice, but the others are better than me for sure.

If you ever need to vent, feel free to message anytime.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:00 am

jfro18 wrote:
Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:16 pm
So sorry you're going through this and that you're having to juggle all of it with a wedding coming up. I wish I had good words of advice, but the others are better than me for sure.

If you ever need to vent, feel free to message anytime.
Thank you! I've confided in two of my brothers now about plans to leave after the wedding.

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moksha
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by moksha » Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:32 am

Sorry to break in, but this TicTok couple were sharing some stuff that might be helpful:

https://www.tiktok.com/@challenge.faith ... _webapp=v1
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Thu Aug 26, 2021 2:51 pm

moksha wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:32 am
Sorry to break in, but this TicTok couple were sharing some stuff that might be helpful:

https://www.tiktok.com/@challenge.faith ... _webapp=v1
Just seeing this now. Thanks moksha :).

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Deepthinker
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Re: Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

Post by Deepthinker » Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:08 am

A quick update.

I hired an attorney several months ago and have divorce papers ready to file, which she knows about. I have been talking to her about divorce, talking about not wanting to go to litigation, but she wants to still make the marriage "work". We've been sleeping in separate rooms for a few months. Went to a few marriage therapy sessions together.

After telling her about the divorce papers a few months ago, she went into a panic, which has kept me staying with her because I don't want to hurt her. I want to give her some time to process me leaving, but I've felt the need to get to the root of my own feelings as well. After some tearful discussions shortly after her telling her about the divorce papers, she went outside and came back 10 minutes later saying she prayed and God told her we needed to stay together. This is coming from someone who has always told me she has had a difficult time getting answers to prayers, and never knows if it's an answer from God or her own thoughts and feelings.

I just feel myself continuing to detach from her emotionally. Our conversations end up being the same ones that go around in circles with no resolution. We both think so differently, that it's like we're trying to connect two communication cables together that aren't using the same protocols.

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