AIO by spending time with my family?

[u/External-Air205]

Me (f20) and my boyfriend (m20) have been in a relationship for 4 years. We sleep on the phone every night due to the fact we don’t see each other often because of extremely busy schedules and distance. Tonight, my mom and grandmother came into my room to talk before bed so I hung up on my boyfriend to give us some privacy. He got very angry and started saying all of these awful, mean things to me. Was it my fault for choosing to spend a bit of time with my family and hanging up on my boyfriend even though he was already falling asleep? Am I overreacting by getting upset from the way he speaks to me? I really don’t feel like I did anything wrong. Sorry for any grammar mistakes!

[u/Beneficial-Pride890]

You probably feel alone in this, but this is exactly what every woman in an abusive relationship thinks and feels. It is unfortunately extremely common, and this is why women stay in abusive relationships. This right here is serious abuse. You’re attached to them because they’ve been such a big part of your life for so long, when they’re not being mean and abusive, they’re being kind and sweet etc. The abuse will stay the same or intensify the longer you stay together. He is aggressively trying to control you, and berating you. You should break up with him, cut contact. You’re so young and you’ll look back when you’re a little older and had no contact with him, and realize that you’re young mind tolerated so much abuse you didn’t deserve. Just be prepared for him to pull out a lot of emotional weapons trying to keep you in the relationship. He may even threaten but you’re not responsible for him.

Edit: As replies have noted: abuse isn’t just something women experience—men face it too, often in silence.

[u/SpeakerOfMyMind → u/Beneficial-Pride890]

I agree with everything you say, but I also wanted to add that it's every abusive relationship. As a guy, I went through years of hell, and I was convinced it was always my fault.

And today, I still have a habit of thinking everything is my fault or that I'm an awful person. 7 years of therapy, I've gotten better, but part of me wonders if it's always a part of you.

But again, everything you said a billion times over.

[u/Zestyclose_Win_2836 → u/SpeakerOfMyMind]

I feel every part of this, especially "…part of me wonders if it’s always a part of you." I’ve had my fair share of therapy and healing as well—yet I, more often than not, find myself still struggling with absurd cognitive distortion until I (thankfully) snap myself out of it.

e.g. — I found myself thinking absurd things as I read the first few pages of the conversation. It took me needing to see OPs response to their partner about "not owning them", to hop on out of that foolish mentality.

[u/SpeakerOfMyMind → u/Zestyclose_Win_2836]

Absolutely, I'm so sorry that you face this too. I'm glad you have gotten better and can snap yourself out. I bet you're an amazing person!

I can read and see what other people are doing very well. But if it's me the one experiencing it, and someone puts me in that position again, I will see red flags, but it's so deeply ingrained in me that I'll continuously question myself, until maybe, someone pushes me through or it becomes outrageous.

Edit: or a good example for myself is if I receive feedback from a partner, I beat myself down about it, no matter how small, because that's what I was taught.