Dealing with anger

Thank you crazyH ?

You're not alone, Luckygirl. There are so many things I wish I'd done differently, so many times I should have stood up for myself and my daughter. Knowing what I know now it was coercive control.

The older and more unwell he was the worse his behavior became but by then I was so stuck in a pattern of living I didn't know how to change things. When he died (15 years ago) I felt like a weight had been lifted off me.

I still feel angry and guilty and struggle to remember the good times. Most of the time I can live in the present but when I'm feeling a bit low these thoughts come back to haunt me.

I feel better now I've got that off my chest.

Sorry for your loss Grany ?
Luckygirl3, no one is perfect. Some of your husband’s behaviour was due to his illness. You were together through thick and thin, that’s the main thing. Good luck for the future..

Thank you Smileless2012 ?

Thank you Callistemon21 ?and maddyone ?

So sorry for your loss Grany.

Granyso sorry to hear of the loss of your husband

Grany I'm sorry to hear about your DH
?

Perhaps it wasn't that your DH and your relationship were a problem, Luckygirl, perhaps it is the group you have joined which is wrong.
Their marriages sound too good to be true, frankly.

Hearing about marriage partners who "never had a cross word in 60 years" makes me think they must be wearing rose-tinted spectacles.

I just wish I had stood up for myself more and often think what I should have said.
Had you done that you might now be regretting the dreadful arguments which may have ensued.
None of us is perfect.
Not even you or me ?

Going over what was said or done may help to process it but dwelling over what can't be changed won't help you move forward either.
You can't change the way you handled things but you can be kind to yourself now.

Perhaps you need to find a different group.

Thank you Calendargirl I am a private person and don't usually share my personal details but felt I could respond It upset me after I posted it and read it.

Here's a bouquet for you too ?

It's a good job we all don't share the same views or there would be no debate

I guess it is common with so many people who have lost a partner. I just wish I had stood up for myself more and often think what I should have said.

But as Yammy says there is no point in having regrets. Just have to remember that I must have got some things right. And I kept my family intact and managed to provide a stable background for my DDs, who are now happy adults of whom I am very proud. But it pains me that I have had to keep some information from them, as I do not want their memories of their Dad to be tainted.

I didn’t realise you had been widowed recently Grany.

I don’t share many of your views, but I send you

???

And Yammy

Bridgeit - thank you.

I have never had to endure what you have but have a friend who lost her husband when she had three young children.
She joined a group and said it was making her look at her late husband in a different way it highlighted his drawbacks rather than making her feel positive about going forward.
I think if we admitted it non of us have the perfect partner and neither do our husbands. You sound as if you made a positive effort to be kind and understanding, you did your best at the time and in the circumstances. Don't look back with regrets.

I like the saying: Do not judge yesterday’s decisions on today’s circumstances.
I think many ,many of us have at some time or sometimes dwelt on situations that with hindsight we would have dealt with entirely differently if we were faced with such a situation now.
Life & living just doesn’t pan out like that, try to be soothed with knowing you did what you thought was right at that moment in time, best wishes.

maddyone

Maybe you should or maybe you shouldn’t, don’t let these thoughts detract from the love you had for your husband.

Yes, this is important. I still love my first husband for all the things I loved him for in the first place. The kids I had with him know this.

Maybe you should or maybe you shouldn’t, don’t let these thoughts detract from the love you had for your husband.

No, you are not the only one. Not that I have been bereaved but I still dwell at times on why I felt I had to leave my first marriage. It is not with anger. I don't think I was ever angry, just baffled by some behaviours. I think I understand them better now but whether that would make them easier to live with I don't know.

Luckygirt despite what others may say, no relationship is perfect. Every one of us has good points and bad or annoying points. These other ladies are looking through rose coloured glasses. Don’t take any notice of them, their partners were not perfect, it’s just the way they remember them now. Because you remember your husband warts and all doesn’t mean you didn’t have a good relationship with him, it just means you remember him as he was, and you loved him as he was.

My thoughts about the difficult things he did are that maybe I should have stood up for myself more and made my concerns about these things clearer. Too late now ......

I think we tend to see things from our perspective judge and not see the other person underneath. My husband died Nov 5th 2021 age 68 He was starting to get mellow in later years Ours marriage was not perfect but wouldn't have chosen anyone else, yes you do wish you could have reacted differently at the time. But still know that your partner chose you and there was love.