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My (35F) spouse (35M) is an emotional abuser. Leaving is not an option. How do I cope? (by Sparky)

 Sparky (0)  (29 / M-F / Massachusetts)
16-Nov-19 2:30 pm
My (35F) spouse (35M) is an emotional abuser. Leaving is not an option. How do I cope?

I've been with my spouse now for around 8 years, married for three. My spouse suffers from PTSD and I'm sure some other things as well, but refuses treatment and medication. He was recently diagnosed with night terrors, but I suspect he wasn't being honest with his physician about his symptoms, which range from very angry outbursts in the morning (where he is fully, undeniable awake) to delusions about my fidelity. Just this morning he woke me up, yelled at me to help him find his wallet, called me a ****ty spouse, and accused me of trying to sabotage him. On an intermittent basis, he accuses me of cheating on him with our mutual friends and having sex with my PhD advisor. This morning he implied I had someone over in the middle of the night who stole his wallet (which he found a few minutes later). He further claims to have video evidence of me performing oral sex on someone on our balcony, which he conveniently "threw away" after I challenged him to show it to me.
He has not hit me, but he has put numerous holes in our walls, has previously blocked me from leaving the apartment, and breaks into the bedroom whenever I lock the door (we essentially live in seperate areas of our apartment because I no longer feel safe sleeping next to him). More recently, he's threatened to take the doorknob off entirely if I lock it. He calls me lazy, and becomes extremely angry when he has to do the dishes or clean the litterbox (the bulk of household chores fall to me; I refuse to take these ones on, as well).
I know what all this amounts to and what the ideal course of action is - namely, leaving. But I live in an extremely high cost of living area, make only $16k per year, and have been looking for a full time job for around two years with no luck. I have $200k in student loan debt, on top of another $20k or so in credit card debt. In short, I'm financially dependent on my spouse in the extreme and also rely on him for health insurance.
I need to stay, at least until I find a full-time job that pays well enough to afford a small studio in my area (around $1500-$1700 per month). But what do I do in the meantime? I'm completely exhausted, emotionally drained, socially isolated... all typical, I guess, for my situation. My close friends and family live in other states or countries, and while a couple know what's going on, there's not a whole lot they can do for me.
TL;DR; My spouse is an emotional abuser. How do I survive with my self-worth reasonably intact? And how can I take steps to minimize my spouse's hostility toward me?


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