I see a lot of women on here had the same experience I did! I am so proud of you ladies for realizing enough is enough and taking back your LIFE!

For me it was when the belittling disguised as jokes began, along with outlandish remarks and questions. I’m a very accepting person and have kind of a “live and let live” philosophy on life. I work in my local school district. I’ve met many personality types along the way, so I just figured this guy sure is direct and outspoken isn’t he!? At first I’d laugh at his little condescending digs about my appearance or my parenting or cooking or driving or whatever. Maybe his sense of humor is a little more negative and dark than mine. So what. Who cares? I didn’t see it as “my problem” until it was. The put-downs worsened and became more frequent. Nothing was off limits in the way he criticized me. It started to feel like it was all the time. It ruined everything. I remember standing up for myself and finally saying Hey! Stop talking to me like that! Stop criticizing me all the time! It feels like you don’t even like me! That last sentence. I ended up saying it at least 100 times in the 8mos we dated. His response would be that he was joking or just trying to help and that he loved me and wanted to be with me. That was his catch-phrase towards the end of an argument. “I love you and I want to be with you.” Sprinkled throughout our relationship were handme down gifts, seemingly kind gestures, help with the house, and all kinds of confusing and contradictory behavior. He once offered to check in on my animals because I worked a 2nd job in the evenings. He did it for about 2 weeks and then one day out of the blue after I had texted him from school to say there was a last minute change to my schedule could he stop by, he slipped into some mania or rage or tantrum and told me this was all stressing him out. That he wants to relax after work and not have to drive around and that he’s not my baby-daddy! I was floored by his reaction (never got used to the irrational reactions to things), felt badly that I was stressing him out, apologized profusely, and reminded him that he had offered in the first place! His response was that he didn’t know what he was getting himself into and that it was just too much for him. Whiney. Ass. Bitch. This was all via text. I ended up calling him after I got home so we could talk. He was still in a rage which then turned quickly into a rant about how my cooking was ruining his diet! That he likes to four square meals and my meals are always just fattening and lazy. That he might as well go to Taco Bell. It was so bizarre, but somehow I was the one who ended up apologizing, making concessions for the future, and basically begging for forgiveness. This is one of MANY scenarios that finally caused me to leave. It’s been 3 weeks no contact and on the 28th of this month it will be a month since I told him I didn’t want to be with him anymore. I feel everything. Relief, freedom, anger, sadness, loss, dashed hopes, alienation, confusion, betrayal. Researching and understanding the signs and red flags of this toxic behavior which I also agree is likely NPD and abuse consume me right now, as I try to make sense of what happened. It’s truly a terrifying walk thru a Fun House, except it isn’t fun at all. I’m just glad I walked out and didn’t get lost in there.