I have been with my girlfriend for 2 years. Our relationship became pretty serious. Shes been living with me for the past two years. She was everything that I wanted for a partner. She was very caring, loving, thoughtful. helpful. creative. I loved everything about her. I loved her quirks and flaws. She even got me a promise ring. We had so much planned out together. We were going to build a future together...until last Tuesday...She left and moved all of her stuff out while I was at work.
Nothing has been the same since that day. I can't sleep, I can't get her out of my mind, I don't have any desire to do anything...This is the second time that she has left me. The first time she left, she got physically abused, mentally abused, used, and she got pregnant. She also had to get an abortion for that. Somehow we ran into each other at Wal-mart after she left that guy and we got back together. She was sincerely hurt from leaving me in the first place....Now she left again for a fat guy that she met off Tinder....
Its almost been two weeks since we broke up and I'm still hurting....I don't understand how she already went on a date with that guy. Is this guy a rebound? Is that why she isn't hurting like I'am?....How do you meet a guy off Tinder...I thought that app was full of desperate and horny boys?....I don't understand how she became so indifferent...like shes a totally different person....Our relationship didn't even have major issues. She even told me it was the best relationship shes ever had...because all of her past relationships abused her....I just don't understand why she left....I'm hurting and I don't know what to do anymore....
This is a difficult scenario all the way around.
Abuse is an insidious thing, and there is no simple answer for how to relieve someone of it. In fact - part of the reason it is so insidious is that there is very little anyone else -can- do, other than try to provide an environment free of abuse. Even so - the abuse still persists within the person's mind.
It is very common among people who are abused as children and even teenagers, particularly sexual abuse.
Think of it this way - you meet this amazing girl and you want to do everything in the world to make sure you are everything she has ever wanted. Yet... every time things begin to get intimate - it's impossible to not remember the time where you were touched inappropriately as a younger person. It distracts you - she notices, and becomes concerned.
You're "damaged goods" - and are bringing down those around you who you care about the most. Or... you believe you are. The reality is that she's probably just as focused on the idea of making you happy as you are focused on the idea of making her happy. But that idea is understandably difficult to grasp for a person whose primary experiences with physical contact and even *** were really only for the personal gratification of another person.
Abuse manifests as a self-destructive mindset where the affected individual believes he/she is no longer worthy of happiness. Mistakes made in life are remembered as reasons for why the individual should be punished, or for why he/she deserves mistreatment. The realization that personal actions caused harm to another become grounds for driving this person further into the idea that he/she deserves to be punishment and does not deserve happiness.
Common phrases are: "You deserve someone better than me," "I don't deserve someone like you," "I'm always such an idiot," "I'm a horrible person," etc. These statements go beyond simple joking - but are frequent sentiments brought about regularly by minor things.
People who fall into this cycle usually tend to adopt a sort of logical 'hedge' against what they feel is their destructive nature. If one is a horrible person who is unfit for a decent person - perhaps one can become a simple servant to people who are not as deserving of a decent human being as a companion.
Promiscuity then manifests as a sort of service. If they can service another person's desire (and perhaps reinforce the idea they are a horrible person by gaining some pleasure from it, themselves) and then not harm them through that person developing an emotional attachment or some kind of companionship beyond that master-servant relationship... then their continued existence can at least be said to have purpose.
Insanity is often very logical, if you dare to venture into another person's mind to figure out the pattern.
It could be very true that when she says she loves you - she really means it. It is just that she considers herself unworthy of you - of being unable to be a net positive in your life. Perhaps she has difficulty controlling some impulses, as well. A lot of people of the younger generations have impulse control issues. When pornography and social media is in our pockets - 'sexting' practically seeks you out. No payment necessary. Any difficulty she may have in controlling any one of these impulses reinforces the idea she has that she is a horrible person and is bringing you down.
The worst part about this is that this is something she has convinced herself of - and only through finding a true love/appreciation for who she is - for the fact that she can become a great person in spite of her past can she ever free herself from that cycle of
self-abuse and hatred.
She may eventually settle into a relationship where she is slave to a person who is not abusive to her - but she will still be a slave to a master as opposed to a genuine companion. Currently, she is likely after the type of people who reinforce the idea that she is a horrible person - that they are 'what a person like her deserves.' But, eventually, the only real requirement is that a guy be indifferent to her outside of providing the outlet of service.
I know that doesn't help much in terms of what you can do...
But, sometimes, all you can do is let someone know that you will always be there for them, and have faith that they will survive long enough to find the inner strength to realize there is something of worth within them.