How my emotional trauma proves the abuse–and I realize Richard conned me
The post here includes an e-mail Richard and Tracy sent me in May 2012, which proves my belief that they are sociopaths. In it you will see every sociopathic trait–including empty threats and false accusations–and maybe recognize e-mails you have received from your own sociopath. You will see how they began their stalking campaign.
This post was originally posted in May 2012. I wrote it while a baby blogger, and added to it over a period of months, so it badly needed editing. However, I struggled for a long time to look through this blog post again because of the presence of that e-mail and its tendency to trigger all sorts of emotional reactions: fear, pain, hurt, anguish, rage, etc.
But now I am finally able to do some proper editing, and re-post it. I want to sticky it so new readers can see it, as I have been doing for months with my old posts.
It is, however, extremely long, which would take me all night to edit and an hour for you to read, so I will re-post it in chunks. I have divided the original post into several sections, which I will follow in the re-post. If you want to see the entire original post, click here. Now for Part 5.
Warning: The following contains venting of anger, to get it out of my heart and onto the page, to make the story authentic, and to show other victims of abuse that I feel your rage.
I recognize Tracy’s malicious style in that e-mail, from her past messages to Todd and me both, and from posts she’s written to people on forums as well. But it must have been at least approved by Richard as well.
A certain loathing comes from being betrayed not once, but twice by what you thought was your best friend.
To think of all the times he was so kind and caring to you before, so you thought he was your friend.
But now you discover that it was all an act meant to con you.
Why he would do such an elaborate con, I don’t know. But I do now see very clearly, from the above e-mail, that he never meant anything he said about “loving” me.
Maybe the act was meant to get various things out of me: concern, a place to stay, food, money, whatever. Maybe it was meant to get the narcissistic supply he so craves. But it was all a lie, an act.
How do I know? After all of Tracy’s unkind words, her snarks, her lies, her power plays, all the behaviors, all Richard’s going along with whatever she did or said about me, without allowing me to defend myself or say I did not deserve this–
Instead of apologizing for his part in things, or getting her to apologize, all I got from them was this b**chy e-mail which
- twisted my words into all sorts of crazy things which they never did say,
- denied my right to stand up for myself and go no contact with them,
- denied that what I actually did say was true,
- said they did nothing wrong and would not apologize,
- and said they laughed at my pain.
Obviously they think they’re allowed to throw all sorts of crap at me, but I’m not allowed to stand up for myself.
If he ever actually cared about me at all, then he would have realized just what he had done.
He would have realized that his passivity allowed a Christian sister, and one whom he once claimed to love like a sister (what a lie), to be bullied, hurt, torn apart, and screwed over without remorse.
But no, it was just more minimizing, justifying and defending Tracy’s verbal abuse and constant overt/covert bullying of me.
It is appalling to see behind the mask and discover that you put your love and trust into a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
It is horrifying to realize just how badly you were deceived, just how easily.
A real friend would never stab you in the back and then, when they discover how much it hurt you, twist the knife even further, and then stomp on it until you die.
Beware such friends, and do not grieve when you lose them. They are not worth it. Such toxic “friendships” should be grieved just as much as the snake you shot when it tried to bite you, or the mosquito you slapped.
If I’m telling “false facts,” if I’m accusing an “innocent” person, then why have I been suffering for the past two years from the aftereffects of Tracy’s abuse, both witnessing it and being the victim of it–
even going through a period where I must have had Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the constant rumination, fear, hypervigilance, and memories playing back constantly?
Why did I cry so many tears both during and after the “friendship”?
Why did somebody on a forum say I sounded spiritually traumatized?
Why did I feel for at least a year like I couldn’t get close to anyone I didn’t already know, for fear they would turn out to be abusers just like Tracy?
Why have I had so many triggers that–just when I think I’ve put an issue to rest–bring it all up again so my mind would have to go through and process it, figure it out, all over again? (This happened continuously for at least a year.)
And why on earth would I break off a friendship just like that with someone who was sweet and wonderful and innocent of any wrongdoing, especially since I’m so introverted and shy that I can’t just go out and make another friend to replace ones I lose?
You may ask why I didn’t go to therapy. There were two reasons:
- My husband’s job sucked so bad that I had no resources for therapy, no health insurance, no money, and
- I was even afraid of trusting therapists!
Since my friends could only handle so much, blogging (since I had to get my message out somehow) and writing down the whole story, was my only outlet.
To be continued.