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Partner not who they pretend to be......

Ivyssoup
Casual Contributor

Partner not who they pretend to be......

Has anyone else experienced a situation where your partner uses your mental illness as a reason to speak down to you, blame you for all issues that arise in the relationship, pointing out all your inadequacies, then doing the exact thing that they have berated you for in the past?

And if you dare to bring this to them you are then discarded like a dirty rag. Or told to call lifeline if you have an issue with their cruel behaviour. 

Or has anyone found a letter that their "supposed fiancé" has written about breaking up with you whilst you are actually still living together in an intimate relationship?

Or have any of your partners used your health condition to gain sympathy by manufacturing a story of support? When in reality they are researching how to meet single people.

 

Just a little of what my life has been like lately. 

Would love to hear any other experiences. 

 

3 REPLIES 3
DahliaDreams
Senior Contributor

Re: Partner not who they pretend to be......

Hello @Ivyssoup 

 

I hope you are okay and have someone you can talk to today. I have experienced some of what you describe in my past. It was a terrible situation for me. It was a long time ago, but I still think about it sometimes.

 

When I had my nervous breakdown my partner at that time was not supportive - which is bad enough, but he would also put me down for being depressed, and try to discourage me from getting help. He would insult me, say that there was 'nothing wrong with me', tell me how terrible I looked and a few other things. Mainly he would just ignore me and never look at me and treat me like I didn't exist. It was like he was disgusted by me.

 

I think there were a lot of problems in our relationship before I ever became mentally unwell. But me being depressed and anxious made all those problems obvious.

 

My mental health condition did not cause my ex-partner to become a selfish, uncaring, mean-hearted and cruel person. He was already like that when I met him, only I was naive and didn't see it. 

Oh yes, and in hindsight I could see that he was cheating on me as well, probably for the duration of our relationship. 

 

That was my experience. It was a very long road to recovery. 

 

If you would like to chat, I will be about today, on and off. I hope you are doing things to take care of yourself today and giving yourself all the kindness and care that you deserve. 

Ru-bee
Peer Support Worker

Re: Partner not who they pretend to be......

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Hey @Ivyssoup I just wanted to quickly stop by and welcome you to the forums

I'm so sorry to hear what you've been going through with your partner. 

As @DahliaDreams spoke about in their experience - this treatment is not the fault of you or your mental health. I'm so sorry that you've been met with coldness when what you've needed is acceptance and support.

I do wonder if you might consider giving 1800RESPECT a call for some specialised support and to be able to talk through what's been going on for you?

I'm glad you've found this space and hope you can feel supported by the forums community

Ivyssoup
Casual Contributor

Re: Partner not who they pretend to be......

So sorry it has taken me this long to reply.
And for the pain that person caused you.
To have healed this level of mental illness is incredible. You are truly brave and strong