I finally managed to get my Husband to a counselor who recognizes ADD, the counselor actually did extensive research and is really understanding our situation, my Husband is scheduled with a Psychiatrist for meds. Nevertheless, that's as far as it went, and I lost hope. He wouldn't do anything beyond that, no discussions at home, kept avoiding having me involved in "his" counseling, and started to back off his belief that he even has ADD. After much thought, and reading a lot of the posts here, as well as my books and the books on Co-Dependency, I went to our last session (against his wishes) and laid out a 6 month plan to work through all of our financial issues, and separate everything, and work with the counselor to build an extraordinary friendship and learn to be extraordinary parents together. At the end of the 6 months, we'll take a pre-planned trip together as a family and come home to our new separate lives. He responded with anger and accused me of blaming him for everything, and I assured him there is no blame, and the discussions about who/what/how etc were over and the goal was only going forward now. He left angry, but quickly became very easy to live with.
Now, he's doing everything I ever wanted and being the HUSBAND I've wanted for the past few years! When we finally talked and I asked him if he agreed with the plan, he said he yes that it's the only option. Through the discussion he told me that he needs things, and all the things he told me he needs are the things I've been wanting for the past 3 years of therapy and fighting! Now I feel like he wants them, just not with me.
Now it seems the hyperfocus is back, but not with the intent to keep me, which is really hard. He's attentive, caring, loving, even affectionate. He's making the boys be respectful, asking about my day, being helpful without asking, and asking what I need or he can do to help out. I looked at him and told him how sad I am because I truly believe that if I met him today I'd fall madly in love with him all over again, and when I asked him the same he said, "yeah, probably". I was crushed, so I started thinking about it.
I met my husband when I moved here from 1,600 miles away. I left my friends, and everything I loved and wanted, to take care of my uncle and grandparents, all of whom are gone now. I adopted his life, friends, clubs, hobbies, everything. And although he's given most of these up over the years of me getting through law school, and us raising our kids, it's all waiting for him to return. I've been very careful to make sure that he never felt like my life eclipsed his, that he had the opportunity to have a life outside of our marriage and family. The result is, I have no family when he's gone, no clubs, friends, hobbies, and the job I have will have to go because I'll need to find a job with medical coverage. I'll have nothing and his entire life will be returned to what it was before the marriage. And I believe he's always romanticized that life before me.
That leaves me with the last stab to the heart, I've always felt like nobody needs me for anything but a paycheck. I'm the breadwinner, and I get home at 8-10 pm every night because I don't have a choice. Nobody really cares, and nobody ever really even knows where I am, which has always devastated me. Now nobody will even know IF I make it home, or care. He's just let me know unequivocally that he doesn't need me, and never did. His life is going to be better without me, he's actually anxious to get rid of me.
So now, I've got him in what appears to be hyperfocus mode, or is it him trying to reap the benefits of therapy? Am I giving up everything I wanted too soon in exchange for a clean house and "order out of chaos" only to have nothing but an empty house and absolutely nothing in my life at all? Where do I address these issues & how? Do I bring them up in counseling? I told him I was done, and now all I do is cry. I feel like asking to try again is just going to empower him to take control over me again and send my life spinning out of control with threats of divorce on a weekly basis, and constant manipulation, and emotional/mental abuse. Plus, my 11 year old is in counseling to deal with how the ADD has affected their relationship, do I have a right to back peddle when I'm seeing progress there?
Is he just so happy to get rid of me that he sees a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm interpreting it as love, hyperfocus, or the man of my dreams? I've rambled, I apologize.
And I believe he's always romanticized that life before me.
Submitted by dedelight4 on
"And I believe he's always romanticized that life before me." This phrase particularly jumped out at me. I felt that for a very long time in our marriage. My ADHD husband seemed to ALWAYS romanticize his college life and his life before marriage. He LOVED his college years, where he only had to focus on himself and nothing else. School was SO easy for him, but the social part of life wasn't as good. He was and has been afraid of people, unless it's certain situations. He was carefree, got to do whatever he wanted, WHENEVER he wanted. There were no expectations put on him, and when he would "mess up" from his ADHD, it didn't matter because college kids didn't really "CARE" if someone acted like a jerk or not.
It used to make me feel very bad because I desperately wanted him to feel "that good" about life with me, and OUR life together. He has NEVER talked about our life in that way or in those terms. But, I know his type of thinking was a very immature, selfish type of thinking. He felt free, not attached to anything, and had no responsibilities except for the things he WANTED to have responsibility for. He LOVED that life. It has made me question REPEATEDLY, WHY did he want to get married then? Why do ANY ADHD people want to get married if they like their own single lives so much? They KNOW they have problems, whether they will admit it or not......many won't.
He also wanted to be see as a "sexual stud" by other women.....like his friends were. But, he wasn't "that way". He had NO FINESSE when it came to courting women and was pretty awkward around women. Most people called him the "absent minded professor", because he was always forgetting things, botching things up, dropping and/or breaking something and all sorts of klutzy things. He was nice looking and a very talented musician with an incredible sense of humor, which made him fun to be around.
For me.....after so many years, I just want and need someone to TALK to. I haven't been listened to for 31 years. I've been talked AT, and had lectures for all this time, and get told mostly......."hurry up, will you get to the point already?" and "Just get to the point". I started saying everything in 30 second sound bytes, because he stops listening after a few seconds, and you can see his eyes and thoughts wander after a sentence or two. I would love to be able to have a husband that I could just TALK TO. To top it off.....he's the one who says..."I haven't felt loved in a long time". (when he's the one who never engaged in the marriage in the first place)
I can't afford counseling at present, because we've been living paycheck to paycheck. We're behind on most of our bills as well. The counselors in this area start at 100. an hour, and our insurance doesn't cover that. Just feeling alone.
Hi Dede....My Wife does the same...
Submitted by c ur self on
"And I believe he's always romanticized that life before me." This phrase particularly jumped out at me. I felt that for a very long time in our marriage. My ADHD husband seemed to ALWAYS romanticize his college life and his life before marriage. He LOVED his college years, where he only had to focus on himself and nothing else. School was SO easy for him, but the social part of life wasn't as good. He was and has been afraid of people, unless it's certain situations. He was carefree, got to do whatever he wanted, WHENEVER he wanted. There were no expectations put on him, and when he would "mess up" from his ADHD, it didn't matter because college kids didn't really "CARE" if someone acted like a jerk or not.
My wife does this...I've often wondered about it...She made a statement about our Son who is college a while back...Her statement was like she was sad, that he wasn't doing more partying etc...She said like she did...I spoke up and said I don't, and just looked at her in amazement...Like did you just say that?
He's a good Christian kid who is working himself through Engineering school....I've often thought about why see seems to have no remorse for all the things she now would counsel a young women to avoid....I not sure, but, I think it all boils down to her refusal to face reality...Denial and insecurities run very deep...I guess we all would like to think we are good....But once we puke it up...And realize there is only one who is good....And it's not us....Then we can accept forgiveness, and experience peace...