The next step isn't solid

My spouse is mentally ill and not taking care of himself. We agreed he'd go to therapy instead of meds, but he's only gone a few times even though he needs ongoing help and therapy. Not only for his mental illness (bipolar), but to deal with abuse he suffered from horrible parents as a child. He hasn't taken any steps, is getting abusive, and after years I now feel like he's just been using me, that I've just been enabling him to abuse substances without any consequences and I'm just here to pay less rent and make lunch. He keeps making horribly dangerous choices without considering the consequences for anyone, and isn't seeing anything clearly. I'm trying my best to be supportive and urge him to get help and take care of himself, but he doesn't seem to care about either of us enough to do anything. I feel horrible, but also like he's dragging me into a dark dark pit there's no way in hell I'm going down into. I know I don't deserve to be taken for granted, to be doing everything for us every day and only being yelled at in return, but the guilt of leaving a mentally ill person has kept me here for so long. We've been here before and he thinks it's some sick game, it's normal for him now but I can't do it anymore. How do I take the next step when there's no stair there? I have no idea what comes next but I know I need to take the step.

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JayJ

Nov 4, 2019 at 10:32pm

Try calling the crisis line in your area. If you are worried about how he will react if you leave him they should be able to give you some advice. And please be safe. If you think he might get violent, do it over the phone and make sure you are protected. Your safety should be #1.

37 8Rating: +29

Quiz show

Nov 4, 2019 at 11:03pm

Starts with a "d". Ends with an "e". Two syllables.
If you stay, you know what you'll be getting. Probably more and worse, too.
Also, you're enabling this. Because you make it possible, or easier, for your partner to be ill and abusive, and to normalize it. I've watched my dad make that mistake for 30 years. Like being drained by a vampire. Literally, in his case. He's half the physical self that he once was, and he didn't have it to lose.
I warned him decades ago. So now, I warn you.
Check yourself. Leave while you can. While there's still something left of you.
Your spouse may do differently, but likely ONLY when it becomes impossible to continue to do the same. And you not being there is a critically important part of that. Once you leave, space opens up for something else because "nature abhors a vacuum". Change comes when it comes, not when you want or need it to.
I've seen, and dealt with, much addiction, abusive and delusional behavior, and mental illness - both the "temporary insanity" and the permanent sort. If you can't keep yourself relatively well and balanced over the longer term, you can't take care of others.
This long-term crisis will eat you. Save yourself.

52 6Rating: +46

Leave.

Nov 4, 2019 at 11:18pm

You're not his mom. He'll have to deal with himself without you one way or another, however he chooses. Focus on taking care of you.

47 9Rating: +38

Anonymous

Nov 5, 2019 at 12:07am

You know what you have to do...

33 8Rating: +25

Anonymous

Nov 5, 2019 at 7:29am

"is getting abusive,"
Get out of this relationship ASAP. I understand you want to help and you love him, but you have tried that and it hasn't worked. Now you have to take care of yourself. You may even want to seek therapy of a support group. (hint: put your name on the list now for low-cost therapy as the wait list is long. even if you think you don't need it, put your name down. You can always change your mind when the time comes. any walk in clinic doctor can provide you with a page long list of names and numbers.)
If rent is an issue, transition housing exists for women fleeing abusive relationships.
There is also a group called Shelter Movers there to help with the actual move.
Make sure you separate yourself financially as well. If you have bank accounts together, even the Shaw or Telus bill. You don't want him to stack up debts in your name after you split.
Good luck!
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/dabus

https://www.bchousing.org/housing-assistance/women-fleeing-violence/wome...

https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/support-myself

https://sheltermovers.com/

38 9Rating: +29

Well....

Nov 5, 2019 at 11:03am

Having lived with someone who's manic-depressive, I can say that it's very challenging and unless they're willing to stay on their meds (which can really help to control the condition), it's not likely things will ever get better, or easier for you.

My suggestions:
a) meet with a family lawyer for an initial consultation. That may help provide you with some 'first steps';
b) consider finding a good counsellor to help you through this. Sadly, in my experience (and perhaps things have changed) there's not often a lot of support for people who live with people who have mental illness, and it can feel very isolating. Sounds like you've done all that you can do; and
c) try to build up a support group around you of family and friends so you have someone to lean on and help you through this.

It's very sad when something like this happens, and I fully understand how you can be feeling that you need to take care of him, and that anxiety about leaving him on his own. But this is also pulling you down, and if he doesn't want to get help, there's not much you can do.

You might also want to read a wonderful little book called "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison - it explains what it's like to have this condition, both from the inside, and from the perspective of a clinician (as she was both, and did her PhD while in a manic phase). It's quite illuminating and I found it gave me a whole different understanding. I'm not saying to read it to so that you can stay, but simply to learn more - which can also help with closure.

All the best as you move onwards, and also sending positive thoughts for his healing as well.

32 8Rating: +24

Don't you know it

Nov 5, 2019 at 11:06am

I have family members that are seriously ill, one supported by us for many years, the other not much contact. We have cut ties to the first one, they were dragging everyone around them down, down, down. Incredibly destructive. I don't feel bad about this as so much time, energy, money, love expended for nothing but at least I can say we tried. Contact social services, get a worker involved, plan to get your life started separately. I don't believe in outright desertion but I do believe in self-preservation. All of these ads and campaigns about 'talking about it' and acceptance don't come close to revealing what the reality is living for someone who is seriously ill. I am not an expert in mental illness and have contacted all resources necessary to get help for my relative. It is up to them to get better and manage themselves if they can, counselling, sometimes prescriptions, support groups but not me and my family any longer. I was tired of the abuse. Sleeping better these days. Talk to your family doctor about this if you can. Good luck, you are certainly not alone.

Martin Luther King Jr. said

Nov 5, 2019 at 11:11am

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

I can relate

Nov 5, 2019 at 11:20am

I've been in a similar spot. The only way (and I mean the ONLY way) that he will be motivated to change is if you quit enabling him.

Your life and your mental health is important too, do not forget that! It's not your job to be a nurse and maid to a grown man. The abuse will make you into a shell of a person. Is this really what you want your life to be like?

40 7Rating: +33

Is divorce an option?

Nov 5, 2019 at 11:40am

If he doesn’t change, do you want to continue this life for the next 5-10-25-40 years?

You’re not a caretaker and deserve happiness too.

You have no obligation to stay in a shitty relationship unless you choose to. I think you deserve much better than what you’re situated in.

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