jnallen wrote:
"This is what she will feel after she comes to her senses."
WRONG!
This type of woman never 'comes to her senses'.
They spend their entire lives in a vicious cycle:
1- carefully cultivate a very attractive, charismatic personal style meant to seduce a man at any cost. The man MUST have a poor self-image, low or zero self-esteem and poor sense of personal boundaries.
2- the very moment she senses he is 'hooked', the real angry, hostile, destructive 2 year-old child begins to appear.
3- one of the tools they use is called 'projection', but this only works on people who have a weak sense of self. Projection is when the worst inner feelings, deviousness and moral decay is "projected" onto the victim. Example: If the woman is abusive, rude, angry and infantile, she will proclaim to everyone that the man she is with is 'abusive, rude, angry and infantile'. Of course, since the man has already bent over backward to try to please her, and thus has lost himself, these allegations come as a complete shock. He then scurries around simultaneously questioning himself and trying to right this 'wrong' that was invented by her. Sometimes this is referred to as 'crazymaking', or 'gaslighting'.
4- This type of woman lives in complete and utter denial of her problems. Actually, occasionally she has an inkling that all of this is her fault, which causes a huge emotional storm within her, often resulting in more projection and arguing.
5- Others only see the sweet, serene and charismatic exterior so very carefully crafted by the woman. They can't believe she would be capable of such problems. The man, already at the lowest point in his life is further demonized as being cruel, hateful and abusive by her.
6- If necessary, repeat with a new man.
I suggest you read two very important books to help you on the road to recovery, both available through Amazon.com:
1- "I Hate You...Don't Leave Me" by Jerold J. Kreisman, M.D. & Hal Straus*
2- "Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder" by Mason, Krieger and Siever.
The more you write about this, the more it appears your 'sweety' has Borderline Personality Disorder.
Here are some of the criteria and it only takes 3/4 of them for a diagnosis. Some mental health professionals actually refuse to deal with this disorder since it is so incredibly destructive and impossible to treat:
"Relationships with others are intense but stormy and unstable with marked shifts of feelings and difficulties in maintaining intimate, close connections. The person may manipulate others and often has difficulty with trusting others. There is also emotional instability with marked and frequent shifts to an empty lonely depression or to irritability and anxiety. There may be unpredictable and impulsive behavior which might include excessive spending, promiscuity, gambling, drug or alcohol abuse, shoplifting, overeating or physically self-damaging actions such as suicide gestures. The person may show inappropriate and intense anger or rage with temper tantrums, constant brooding and resentment, feelings of deprivation, and a loss of control or fear of loss of control over angry feelings. There are also identity disturbances with confusion and uncertainty about self-identity, sexuality, life goals and values, career choices, friendships. There is a deep-seated feeling that one is flawed, defective, damaged or bad in some way, with a tendency to go to extremes in thinking, feeling or behavior. Under extreme stress or in severe cases there can be brief psychotic episodes with loss of contact with reality or bizarre behavior or symptoms. Even in less severe instances, there is often significant disruption of relationships and work performance. The depression which accompanies this disorder can cause much suffering and can lead to serious suicide attempts."
Here is another website you might want to read:
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/borderline/anon.htm
God help you.
*a brief synopsis of this book:
People with Borderline Personality Disorder experience such violent and frightening mood swings that they often fear for their sanity. They can be euphoric one moment, despairing and depressed the next. There are an estimated 10 million sufferers of BPD living in America today - each displaying remarkably similar symptoms:
A shaky sense of identity Sudden violent outbursts Oversensitivity to real or imagined rejection Brief, turbulent love affairs Frequent periods of intense depression Eating disorders, drug abuse, and other self-destructive tendencies An irrational fear of abandonment and an inability to be alone For years BPD was difficult to describe, diagnose, and treat. But now, for the first time, Dr. Jerold J. Kreisman and health writer Hal Straus offer much-needed professional advice, helping victims and their families to understand and cope with this troubling, shockingly widespread affliction. (from book cover)