“How will I eat?” – Man queries as wife moves out after her discharge from psychiatric hospital

Nigerian lady named Khloe Umoh shared the poignant story of a woman’s ordeal after returning home from a psychiatric hospital stay.

The woman, whose identity has been protected, had been admitted for manic depression, only to find herself abandoned by her husband throughout her treatment.

Upon her return, she took the drastic step of packing her bags with the intention of leaving, prompting a surprising response from her husband.

Khloe Umoh recounted the story in a social media post, detailing the woman’s struggle and the subsequent turn of events. The woman had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital to receive treatment for manic depression.

During her hospitalization, her husband failed to visit her even once, leaving her feeling isolated and abandoned during a time when she needed support the most.

Upon her discharge from the hospital, the woman made the difficult decision to pack her belongings, intending to leave her marital home and seek refuge with her mother.

It was at this pivotal moment that her husband, seemingly realizing the gravity of his neglect, voiced his concerns about the practical implications of her departure.

He reportedly implored her not to leave, expressing worries about how he would manage to provide for himself if she were to go.

In her words;

A woman returned from a psychiatric hospital where she was admitted for manic depression. Her husband never visited her once. When she went home to take her things and move in with her aged mother and primary caregiver, her husband asked her ‘if you leave, how will I eat?’

Things like who does the cooking, cleaning, caring may seem basic but they underscore a deeper more intricate thing, which is relationship power dynamic. Women’s self-worth is already tied to marriage and value within the relationship context, so they arrive shortchanged.

When you’re educated to attach life’s purpose to husband satisfaction, in-law satisfaction, children satisfaction, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and manage. So we have men threatening women with marriage and violence over food, and women, unable to leave the place of abuse- Simply because that is the life that they were raised to want. Also because, they’ve already been told not to come back home and as a woman ‘there is nothing you shouldn’t be able to forgive’.

So women stay for the kids; women leave jobs for the kids; women reject promotions- Because they’ll get busier and they have to give their husbands dinner and make sure the kids are ready for school.

The patriarchy has chosen men as the ones who are worthy of support or service. No man is ugly or useless. A gender that is special whether they play their role or Not. A gender that continues to weaponize their strength and social status. I’ll tell you today – as a woman, you cannot sit pretty and comply enough to avoid the pepper the patriarchy is designed to show you. You cannot ‘good girl’ your way out of a system designed to destroy.”

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