Dear mam, I am a working woman married for 14 years with two kids. Ours was a love marriage. But immediately after my marriage I noticed that my husband was over aggressive and very possessive. He wants me to be under his control all the time.
Whenever I say something against his will he starts abusing me and family.
He has suicidal tendencies and has attempted in the past also.
When his anger gets controlled he starts conversation with a sorry.
This situation will continue for a few days and after that he will start again.
This has been my life for the past 14 years.
Sometimes he does manhandle and indulges in forced sex. I am fed up with this nature of his. Please suggest what I can do.

Ans: Dear P,
If a dear friend had come to you with the same problem, what would you have suggested to her?
Would you have asked her to continue with a person who's being inconsiderate?
Would you have not suggested to her that she might need to go into couples therapy?
Certainly, status quo isn't something that you would have advised her to be in especially when she's with someone who has had two police cases against him!
You are dealing with a person who has had a massive change in behavior. Did you not see these red flags earlier? No point digging the past...
Thers is no need to submit to his tantrums and give into sex. He's using it to 'tame' you and make you meek.
Seek the help of someone strong within the family to talk to him...
Move out for a few days/weeks to gain your confidence back...if this is not possible, sleep in a separate room...if he pesters you for sex, look him firmly in the eye and say NO...
Have a dear friend/family member on speed dial...
The welfare of your children's is dependent on you; so to safeguard them, you need to care about yourself first!
You are not meek, do what you would have advised your friend.
All the best!

.

Ans: Dear Anonymous,
Your husband is possibly insecure and of course this does not mean that he can be verbally and physically abusive. His expression of anger has to be channelized into communicating and that's why Anger Management seems to be what he needs.

Now, for this to happen, he first must acknowledge that the manner of his behavior is not appropriate and that he would like to change. And for this to happen, you must draw boundaries. When he starts to raise his voice, you insist that he talk respectfully and if he starts to become physically violent, you hold him back, so he knows that you will not tolerate this kind of behavior anymore. I would suggest you do this having a family member around; so that you know that you are not alone. Maybe when your parents are visiting or friends are staying over...Do not be alone when you are pushing him back as there is no way to know how his anger will turn around. But draw these boundaries; his insecurities need to be addressed by him and not use you to lash out his insecurities.

All the best!
Anu Krishna
Mind Coach|NLP Trainer|Author
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