Some recent events have opened my eyes quite a bit more. However I need to explain a little history first. I think this is important because I found something.
My wife (of 6 years), lost her brother to suicide (in 2001, he had Crohns disease), and her Dad (he was an alcoholic and it is yet to be proven one way or the other if he too committed suicide), around 2 years ago.
All of the time I have known her has been an obvious struggle for her. She has sought help but in the end, her only savior is to push it away.
A few weeks ago she met a man online, who too has lost his Dad and brother to suicide. What's more, both my wife's brother, and the man's brother and Dad were all named David. The time of the man's brother's suicide, was also my wife's brothers birthday.
I always feared that she would meet someone like this as it meant that she would not have moved on and that I am unable to help her. This time has come and it has opened some serious emotions in me. I think it is happening for a reason.
The other day, she referred to him as 'my Cam', and this floored me. Unable to say anything at the time, I simply went away and tried to deal with it. It wasn't until I read a part of the chats they were having that I then discovered that she has a lot of anger towards people making promises they couldn't keep of 'being there', especially at her Dad's funeral. BTW, She is not hiding anything and she has offered me several times to read through their chats, but I declined.
Anyway, reading this part I had to talk to her, and asked her if I was part of that group that she was angry at, and she assured me that no I wasn't. We had a good chat and I did tell her that her calling him 'my Cam', did floor me a bit. I felt that she had strong feelings for him, but she told me that she feels for him, she can feel his pain.
A day or two later, she was chatting with him again and this is when it really hit. Cameron (that is his name), is quite angry, and is struggling, you can see that by his words, but what I noticed was the sorts of reply's my wife was giving him and it was here that I realized how miserable she really is. She is doing things for the purpose of pushing it all away, such as walking, playing netball etc.
I just broke down and cried, and I couldn't stop for at least 15 minutes. At first before I broke down, my initial reaction was that here were two people that were feeding off each others negativity but I then lost it. She has been crying for help for such a long time, and no one is able to help her, the least of which is me.
I want to be able to help her, and give her what she needs and I am realizing that the only way I can do this, is if I am ridding myself of a lot of the self absorbed ways in which I live.
My cry made me think intensely of the traits I have of jealousy, fear of losing her, the unwanted emotions, how it affects me, yet at the same time, I felt empathy that I can not remember feeling ever before. When I spoke to her after, I was immediately struck by how easy it is to be talking about 'I' even in relation to how 'I' was not aware of her misery, how 'I' should be stronger for her, how 'I' was a fool to not hear her cry's for help. I simply apologized and held her and said nothing.
This episode had made me see the empathy I do have that has been sorely lacking, yet for my youngest child David, and my daughter Tahlie, who seems to get a lot of my attention. (Incidentally, both these children were born at times when I didn't want another child. I put two and two together and think that my favoritism towards them may be from having those feelings during the pregnancy.)
I have a serious issue with jealousy. I hate having this with a passion, and I can not think why I have it. My first relationship (which bore my first two children) was not a loving relationship at all, yet jealousy rained supreme.
In my current marriage, my jealousy was a lot worse early on. My wife would look at other men (and I mean intensely) and it would send my flying inside, while I would try to remain calm on the outside. I put up with this for almost two years until one day I was in the supermarket with her and she looked at a man and I looked at him, trying to see what she saw, and then it clicked I asked her' does that man somehow remind you of your brother', and she said yes. For some time she had always expected (or hoping) that she would see him again.
I am trying to work out where this jealousy is coming from. I am hoping that I will find out why as I can see that I should have no reason to be this way, especially towards my wife who is constantly reminding me of how much she loves me. It hurts that I am hurting her.