Battered Woman’s Syndrome (BWS)

Just three weeks into my brand-new amazing relationship with this gorgeous, all- American guy, he punched me in the face, threw me to the ground and began to strangle me.  Something inside him made him let go in time, but my initiation into battered woman’s syndrome had begun.

I was able to leave him through my own tenacity as I had no real support but took him back when he used the predictable banter of an abuser to lure me with brand new promises of love and hope.

Two years later we were having a fabulous time at a huge party.  However, I noticed he was drinking too much.  I began to socialize on my own with a nice couple who were inviting us to their cabin for the weekend.  He was off isolating in the corner, but when he saw me talking with them, he pounced on the group, singling me out, yelling at me that we were leaving.  The couple saw it had escalated to a dangerous situation for me and offered to take me home.  Because I did not know them, I went with him.

As we got into his driveway, he pulled me out of the vehicle, dragged me into the house and up the stairs to his bedroom where he proceeded to beat me about the head and torso, arms and back until I was unrecognizable.

Again, I left him and again a few weeks later he called and this time, to lure me without fail, he proposed marriage.

I was firmly locked into battered woman’s syndrome and said YES.

It would take me a total of four years to realize I was in BWS, empower myself and write and execute a safe exit plan.

To understand more deeply about the cycle of battered women’s syndrome (BWS) click  here.

To learn how I got out of BWS and triumphed over decades long trauma, read a print version or listen to the audio version of When Birds Sing – My Journey from Trauma to Triumph click here .