The Micro Cycle of Abuse
The Abuse-Hoovering-Cycle in entry 285 is a macro cycle, but there is also a micro cycle of abuse. In entry 124 I used the example of a couple walking through a city and the man suddenly stopping in front of a ticky-tacky restaurant to illustrate the difference between a caring man and a jerk.
A considerate mature man would only suggest to her to eat there. If she does not like the place, they would agree on a compromise. They would look around for a while, maybe an hour, if they find another place, that they both like, but if not, they would come back.
The considerate man also is someone, who informs a woman in advance of what is going on, so that she can be a part of all decisions. He does not wait to tell her of his wish to eat, until he stands with pangs of hunger in front of a restaurant. He takes note of first signs of getting hungry, and before he is craving for food, he suggests to find a place to eat that both like.
The jerk feels entitled to get, what he wants, immediately and the woman is a commodity to serve his needs. The jerk is alone in this world, he has no shade of a doubt, that no alternative exists to his executing and enforcing his solitary decision, what to do about a need, as soon as he gets aware of having it. Any other person in his reach is either a tool or a hindrance to his decision.
If the restaurant scene is in a foreign country, the woman is the commodity to translate the menu. With the jerk, she has no chance to have her needs and wishes considered as equal to his. He either bullies her with an outburst of so much anger into the restaurant, that she has no choice but to submit, before it escalates into a public scene. Or if he outwardly agrees to find another place to eat, even if indeed they find a really nice place where he does enjoy the food, he still blames her forever for her resistance to submit to his needs in immediate obedience. He perceives her resistance to be a commodity as an outrage and not as her right of an equal partner.
If the woman is someone like me, then the most important part of a relationship is the closeness of reciprocally sharing all the innermost feelings. That means, that he tells her his true and uncensored feelings, but also, that he is interested in hers and that he wants to know her true feelings in his attempt to treat her, how she needs and wants to be treated.
After having been bullied into the restaurant, the woman feels extreme pain due to this act of devaluation and disrespect, of not being asked but dominated, of having his will forced upon her, of her needs not even being considered. Mistaking him for a good natured and decent man, who just was not aware of what he is doing, she later on attempts to share her feelings with him. She tries to make him understand, how much his behavior has been hurting her, and why. Under the assumption, that he cares for her, she attempts to support him in learning how to treat her in the future with more respect and consideration.
But instead of getting signs of caring understanding, she talks to a wall. With some annoyance, he keeps on repeating, that he was hungry, as if being hungry is enough justification for his domination. He firmly believes, that when he is hungry, he alone has the right to decide, what to do about it, as if she did not exist. This for him is just self-evident and nobody and nothing can instill any doubt about this in his mind.
She talks to a wall, when she craves to get the understanding of a mindmate. She feels alone, but she had entered a relationship to be the safe haven of being understood and considered. The pain of feeling alone and not understood aggravates the feelings of having been humiliated by the bullying. She wants to find relief from her pain, and the only possible relief for her is getting through the wall and change his attitude about what is the correct way to treat her.
The Abuse-Hoovering-Cycle in entry 285 is a macro cycle, but there is also a micro cycle of abuse. In entry 124 I used the example of a couple walking through a city and the man suddenly stopping in front of a ticky-tacky restaurant to illustrate the difference between a caring man and a jerk.
A considerate mature man would only suggest to her to eat there. If she does not like the place, they would agree on a compromise. They would look around for a while, maybe an hour, if they find another place, that they both like, but if not, they would come back.
The considerate man also is someone, who informs a woman in advance of what is going on, so that she can be a part of all decisions. He does not wait to tell her of his wish to eat, until he stands with pangs of hunger in front of a restaurant. He takes note of first signs of getting hungry, and before he is craving for food, he suggests to find a place to eat that both like.
The jerk feels entitled to get, what he wants, immediately and the woman is a commodity to serve his needs. The jerk is alone in this world, he has no shade of a doubt, that no alternative exists to his executing and enforcing his solitary decision, what to do about a need, as soon as he gets aware of having it. Any other person in his reach is either a tool or a hindrance to his decision.
If the restaurant scene is in a foreign country, the woman is the commodity to translate the menu. With the jerk, she has no chance to have her needs and wishes considered as equal to his. He either bullies her with an outburst of so much anger into the restaurant, that she has no choice but to submit, before it escalates into a public scene. Or if he outwardly agrees to find another place to eat, even if indeed they find a really nice place where he does enjoy the food, he still blames her forever for her resistance to submit to his needs in immediate obedience. He perceives her resistance to be a commodity as an outrage and not as her right of an equal partner.
If the woman is someone like me, then the most important part of a relationship is the closeness of reciprocally sharing all the innermost feelings. That means, that he tells her his true and uncensored feelings, but also, that he is interested in hers and that he wants to know her true feelings in his attempt to treat her, how she needs and wants to be treated.
After having been bullied into the restaurant, the woman feels extreme pain due to this act of devaluation and disrespect, of not being asked but dominated, of having his will forced upon her, of her needs not even being considered. Mistaking him for a good natured and decent man, who just was not aware of what he is doing, she later on attempts to share her feelings with him. She tries to make him understand, how much his behavior has been hurting her, and why. Under the assumption, that he cares for her, she attempts to support him in learning how to treat her in the future with more respect and consideration.
But instead of getting signs of caring understanding, she talks to a wall. With some annoyance, he keeps on repeating, that he was hungry, as if being hungry is enough justification for his domination. He firmly believes, that when he is hungry, he alone has the right to decide, what to do about it, as if she did not exist. This for him is just self-evident and nobody and nothing can instill any doubt about this in his mind.
She talks to a wall, when she craves to get the understanding of a mindmate. She feels alone, but she had entered a relationship to be the safe haven of being understood and considered. The pain of feeling alone and not understood aggravates the feelings of having been humiliated by the bullying. She wants to find relief from her pain, and the only possible relief for her is getting through the wall and change his attitude about what is the correct way to treat her.
She repeats her attempts to explain her feelings, her experience, her perception to him, but it is as futile as the attempts of a fly to leave through the window pane. In the meantime, he continues to use rage and anger to get her compliance with whatever he wants, and thus things are getting worse for her.
After a while, her craving to influence him to stop his hurting behaviors becomes a compulsion, and the futility finally makes her loose her countenance. When she calls him an idiot and an a**hole and such, then this confirms his belief, that she is inferior, flawed and hysterical. It enhances his already strong belief, that what goes on in her mind is of no significance at all.
He had started the abuse by bullying her into the restaurant, but in the end, he can point out, that it was her, who used abusive language. This reinforces his delusion, that his behavior is correct, and her disapproval and her sufferings are indicating, that she is flawed. He feels even more self-righteous, when he continues to bully her. As a consequence, she suffers more, her self-control gets weaker, her outbursts get more frequent and more vehement.
He had started the abuse by bullying her into the restaurant, but in the end, he can point out, that it was her, who used abusive language. This reinforces his delusion, that his behavior is correct, and her disapproval and her sufferings are indicating, that she is flawed. He feels even more self-righteous, when he continues to bully her. As a consequence, she suffers more, her self-control gets weaker, her outbursts get more frequent and more vehement.
If the woman does not have the wisdom and the strength to get rid of that jerk, before it gets too bad, then she will break down one day.
