Emotional abuse from both sides?

Advice

So my husband and I have had a rocky relationship from the start, we’ve been together for 7 years and married for 2 of them. Now that the emotional abuse is heavily one-sided I think I need to leave the relationship. This is a big decision because we share a 2 year old daughter, so I’m taking every step carefully and thoughtfully. Growing up in a house with parents who fought explosively and excessively, and became my mom’s emotional support/dumping ground after the arguments. I have an anxious attachment style, and all the unhealthy patterns that come with it. But for the past two years I have done intense therapy and am so proud that I no longer depend on my husband to help regulate my emotions. I feel I emotionally abused him by forcing my needs on him, exploding when I didn’t feel supported. Now that I have stopped asking for any emotional support, mostly because of how awful he is when I now ask for reasonable and healthy emotional validation, he holds a grudge for when I was asking for too much and treats me as if I am acting how I did during the early years of our relationship. He told me he didn’t love me anymore in December, but wanted to try to work on staying together for our daughter. It feels like he resents me, when we argue he is ultimately the victim because I ask him to apologize for personal insults he’s thrown at me during arguments (he claims when he loses his temper he can’t stop himself, but “will work on it” and the cycle continues) He calls me crazy when I’m still upset he never apologized, tells me I’m asking for too many apologies and the day after an argument he can’t remember what he’s said so he can’t apologize if he doesn’t know what he did. I’m going insane, constantly feeling belittled and like my emotions are not valid. If anyone has been in a similar dynamic, or experienced a lot of gaslighting and refusal to take responsibility for intentionally hurtful shame and name calling I would love insight or advice if I should keep trying to rekindle the love that I have held out hope for for years.. it’s so hard to let go, but that could be the abuse clouding my judgement.

Posted May 7, 2025, 2:40 PM UTC

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