Hi. I just signed up to this group after reading a few of the
postings. My story is not very different from the ones I have read.

I have been married to a wonderful woman for four years (next
Wednesday in our anniversary). We have two beautiful children
together. We have had some rough times in our marraige, but I always
hold on to the good times. In the past year, things have gotten
worse. Heather quit her job to be a stay-at-home mother. She has
become easily aggitated and accused me of very strange actions.
Everything from abuse to having an affair. I have tried to be
reasonable with her and calm her down, but nothing has worked. I
feel like I'm walking on eggshells around her, never knowing what's
going to set her off. Three months ago, I stepped out of the shower
to an empty house. She took the dog, cat and kids and ran away.
Apparently, her suitcases were already packed. She has since filed
for divorce.

We have ALMOST reconciled several times. Everytime we make progress,
she suddenly recalls some terrible thing that I did and can't
forgive me. But these terrible things never happened! I thought I
was losing my mind trying to reason with her.

Then I read "70 Signs of Depression" by Marlee Fisher. I couldn't
believe how well she was describing my exact situation. I have this
book in electronic PDF form if anyone is interested. I am convinced
that my wife is bipolar. I don't know what to do. She denies that
she has a problem, and will hardly talk to me at all. I don't fear
for my children yet, as she is still blaming me for all of her
problems. If this divorce goes through, I hate to think of how she
will treat them as they grow up and spread their wings. Regardless,
I love Heather very much and don't want to see this divorce go
forward. It will not solve her problems.

For the longest time, it felt like nobody knew what I was going
through. Now our families seem split between people who have "seen
it" and others who refuse to believe it. It's causing a lot of
stress for everyone. How do I simultaneously try to help her while
protecting myself from getting "taken to the cleaners" in divorce
court? My head tells me give up on her, but my heart won't let me.