My husband and I have been married for 9 1/2 years. We've known each other for 18 yrs. At first in our marriage he would make side comments (negative) to my friends and family. Then after our 2nd born son died, he started in on me (5 years into our marriage). He doesn't say anything like you mentioned above which make me constantly re-evaluate my sanity. He tells me I'm dirty, I'll never find anyone better than him, the house is never clean, I'm fake (phony), my efforts are wasted and the big one last night is that I'm a copycat. I feel like everything I do is wrong to him. I have my faults, I know I do, and I have even admitted them to him. He tells me that I don't have my own opinions about things but when I try to form my own opinions, he tells me that they are wrong and that I should listen to his opinions only. He also expects me to read his mind when he wants me to do something "after all these years of marriage, you still don't know what I want from you" (his words right from his playbook).
After typing all this and reading it out loud, it all seems stupid and I feel like I'm going insane. I don't want to disappear under his thumb but I want to try to work this out. We have applied for marriage counseling but have been turned down because the counseling programs say that he needs counseling. He refuses to go because counselors who assess him (by himself) are stupid and don't know what they are talking about.
He told me this morning that I'm a gaslighting, narcissist because I refuse to talk to him (for the first time in all the years we have been together). I'm tired of my words being twisted and used against me in the heat of an argument (or to start one with me). The list is lengthy of all the abuse but it's never been name calling (to my face). Currently, I'm working towards getting out. I just need to know if what I'm experiencing is abuse or if it's all in my head. If it's all in my head, I'm going to check myself into a program, but if it's abuse then I can sign up for emergency counseling and housing for me and our 2 boys.