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Thank you all for the warming (and passoniate) feedback. Today has been a horrible day, mostly feeling depressed and doing almost nothing except from some (horrible) cooking. Only the kid could make me smile for a few moments during the afternoon.
I have just talked to her about the situation today. She insists that the complaints today were not about my increased phone usage, but sadly I cannot really trust her. Anyhow, I am sure she could have used much better language and therefore avoided this silly situation. She also suggested I overreacted, but honestly speaking it drains my whole energy everytime she shouts at me.
Jun 10 · 4 weeks ago
Hey, that does not sound good. Have you tried to, in a very non-confrontational way, let her know that it hurts your feelings? Habits are hard to break, but sometimes simply asking for something helps. Just make sure your timing is good (wait until things are calm and friendly, so it does not escalate)...
🎵 xavi [OP] · Jun 10 at 20:11:
@stack: yes, this has been already discussed many times. Sometimes she understands, sometimes she does not. For a long time now, I begin to spot a pattern there: we might have a few (usually, less than four) "good" days in a row, but then over two or three "bad" weeks.
Sadly, I tend to see that having a more aggressive attitude myself (i.e., telling her that I am sick and tired of it and/or telling things I dislike from her) seems to revert things a bit, despite the inevitable fighting. But it's just sad that only *this* seems to help, even if only a tiny little bit. I wish it were not like this.
— https://archive.org/details/the-gentle-art-of-verbal-self-d-suzette-haden-elgin
Really, really read "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense", and look for her other books. They offer practical ways of gently disabling common verbal attack patterns.
This book literally changed my life. Including realizing when I am the aggressor!
Sounds like an abusive behaviour by her and this must be stopped for your sanity. Tell her how you feel about that. You need to talk each other without the kid and other people listening. And you need to relight the flame as a couple, not as parents.
🚲 CitySlicker · Jun 12 at 01:42:
@stack thanks for the book recommendation. I think I really need something like that. I find myself trying to be disarming, but I can also can say something that is subtly aggressive or so and make things worse
Known some people who do the kind of horrible behavior who are secretly hoping for things to escalate to physical confrontation because deep inside they want to be forcefully dominated.
Humans are complicated: you don’t know what strange things people are carrying from their childhood and past abuse.
Maybe the answer is to just find a way to be *far* more assertive than you are being.
Whether you remain in the relationship or not, you have a kid, which means you are going to have this person in your life for the next 20 years. Rolling over and accepting her behavior isn’t going to help you once courts get involved.
Pray you find a solution and learn what’s really behind this behavior.
These books should be mandatory in school! All those times I felt terrible, not understanding why conversations turned against me! Some people have a natural ability to verbally bully, and are praised for their 'charisma' or 'leadership abilities'. Some ruin lives of a handful of people around them, others become politicians and work on a bigger scale. It is absolutely important to recognize foul play as early as possible, and takes steps to defend yourselves (if you must be near them)
🐐 Steve_Dracula · Jun 13 at 22:52:
Bite her face to establish dominance. (Note: do not actually do this. It makes wives cranky.)
@Steve_Dracula accurate username.
Getting shouted — More often than not, my wife shouts at me whenever she thinks I do something wrong, or in a way she did not expect. On one ocasion, I was shouted in front of her friends because our kid got hurt while I was playing with their kids. I am also usually shouted or criticised by her in front of relatives and friends. Today, she shouted at me because I did not approve her complaints about my increase phone usage since I was literally forced to use WhatsApp. When I get tired of this,...