My spouse seems to hae two different realities. The first is the one he lives in when everything is calm and he can genuinely see how other people are helping him, and he pitches in to help other people. He was recently diagnosed with very high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, and he told me how happy and grateful he was for the whole family changing our diets (we dont need junk food anyway. Its good for all of us and ive already lost 9 lbs! Yay!) and for being supportive but not making a Huge Stinkin' Deal about his conditions. Hes pretty sensitive about them and while he does need certain accomodations, he doesnt want to be fussed over or pitied. I learned to cook some fantastic meals and have put a lot of effort into making this seem like great food rather than a boring old medical diet. Friends, that felt awesome. A lot of things i do tend to go unnoticed so to be prasied without prompting felt great.
The second reality... hoo boy, its Opposite Land. This reality showed up not even half an hour after the first example. He stated that blood sugar spikes and dips can cause mood swings, and he hoped that he could be less irritable. I said that he had been irritable lately and i hopes that he could get that under control too. He instantly lashed out, told me that he probably wouldnt be irritable if i wasnt so awful to him and told me that since i do "f--- all" for him, i deserved it. Then he huffed off and went to bed.
I couldnt help but laugh. (Not out loud, not AT him but at the situation). So much for getting irritability and mood swings under control.
I dont see how he couldn't have managed without me, while im also awful and have never done anything for him. I think he needs a serious time out to cool his jets.
How do the rest of you deal with this back and forth, hair triggered flip-flopping? One monute youre great, the next youre literally the devil himself, then youre great again.... and theres no way to tell what phase youre in. Gah.
(Please excuse typos. Im on a
Submitted by pitypotpie on
(Please excuse typos. Im on a teeny tiny mobile keyboard)
And the fight continued this
Submitted by pitypotpie on
And the fight continued this morning. He got up, got his coffee, sat back down, then screeched at me until he had to leave for work. It was "my" fault for ignoring him, and he "deserves to be furious". I guess saying, "wow, you seem really upset. Id like to talk to you about this when you calm down" is unbearably provoking.
Then, harassing text messages from him at work. Hes demanding i address my s----y behavior and apologize for how i treated him. I dont even know. Whatever.
Fun times chez moi, again. Im so sick of this endless crap. ADHD might be the cause of it all, but his refusal to do anything about it is all on him. Im reaching the point where i am about ready to walk away. I dont need this in my life.
hi pitypotpie....
Submitted by c ur self on
I've stumbled on to something lately that is working...Silence...There was a statement I've heard since I was a child..."Silence is Golden"...The reason I never used it much, is because I've had no capability or desire to be silent in community anyway...
My perspective on why your husband lashed out is (in this particular incident anyway) : When someone has difficulty with their Pride (like me)...And they are able to see themselves enough to admit their struggles...like your H's admission of irritability...The comment of agreement you made right after was probably perceived as "Piling On"...It pressed his Pride (self preservation, I'm good) past his ability to tolerate it....So he lashed out in defense...
C
Thank you so much for your
Submitted by pitypotpie on
Thank you so much for your insight! The idea of his pride being wounded makes a lot of sense. Now if only he could stop frothing at the mouth so we could have a discussion. :(
PPP I hope you get some resolution or at least some peace...
Submitted by c ur self on
Good luck with that....If a person has little to no ability to open up (denial) then verbal attempts to communicate are usually the worse kind...If all you get back is a defensive and combative posture then it usually only makes it worse...Now if You grovel and take all the responsibly for the problem all on yourself they usually love that...until the next time, which usually isn't very long...:)
C