Thank you for the article and for the encouragement. Interestingly, at some point I started standing up for myself and soon after, my partner broke up with me. I was actually okay with that and felt I could start healing, full attention to my kids, lurking on dating sites (okay, that is not healing!), exercising by myself reading etc. Within two days she started texting and e-mailing me with _her_ depression, which I ignored for a week, then it turned into her wanting back in. I thought I was being self-protective by very objectively stating two deal-breakers, which she agreed to and has already broken in the time of a few weeks!

But this is good, I'm reading what I'm writing and laughing at myself for being an idiot!