Hello everyone, I am new here, I hope everyone is well
I have been with my wife for 6 years, married 2. She was diagnosed with bipolar when we were dating. She has recently turned to self harming as a coping mechanism for her severe depression (bipolar type 2, medication resistant). Cutting, beating head on wall, punching herself, slapping herself, pills, etc. She feels suicidal all the time (some times more than others).
I am not sure how to handle her self harming behavior. I have tried hiding sharp objects around her (knives, razors), but she is determined to harm herself, so she will find whatever she can - matches, lighters, steak knives, tylenol, alcohol, anything. She will sometimes have severe mood swings so badly that we will be talking and then she just slams her head into the wall without warning. I have tried to stop her from doing this - grabbing her hands, holding her down, but she ends up taking her anger out on me by beating me. The other day she beat me up so badly because of this that I still have bruises and cuts. She has always had a tendency to beat me occasionally but never as badly as it has been the past year, and almost always because I'm trying to stop her from self harming.
I am at a total loss. As a spouse, should I just let her self harm? I talked to counselors and they have said that I need to look out for my safety first and foremost, but that means not intervening when she grabs a steak knife and starts cutting. I am very concerned because when she has mood swings, she has no self control when it comes to self harming. She calls me all the time and says she snorted some pills to cope or that she cut too deeply and the bleeding won't stop. I had to wrestle a meat cleaver out of her hands because she put it to her throat.
What do you guys think, should I continue trying to stop her from self harming, or is there nothing I can do? I threatened to call the police the next time she strikes me, but the police is one of her triggers, and I'm afraid of the consequences of that. I have tried just leaving the situation (going to the next room, leaving the house) but she has separation anxiety and even THAT makes it worse.
Post Edited (logicallunacy) : 6/21/2019 5:53:14 AM (GMT-6)