Thank you for sharing your story. It is very hard to stop abuser to have infuance on you. It took me 2 years. At this moment I want God to protect my kids from him. He still sees them and I don't want him to. The healing process takes long time but hopefully you and me will find peace in God. We have very similar stories. I can't share it with anyone because everyone thinks he is perfect. My parents only know because few years ago he hit me in front of them. I don't want them to know everything because they have health conditions and this will kill them. Do you have kids?
I do have 2 (grown now). Back then, after so many years of his mental abuse and manipulation, I had reached a point where I believed that I deserved how he treated me-- I believed that it was bc I was a bad person. What woke me up to realize that it was him.. and that it was abuse.. was that I started seeing that he was treating my (then VERY young) children the same way that he treated me. (He didn't physically abuse me nor them..so it's hard to explain exactly to someone else. It was more a matter of mind games as well as so much more. He was very subtle about much of it.. thus the mind games part.) As I said, I didn't talk to anyone about it for so many years.. and then when I finally broke and tried to most people thought I'd just gone crazy and wanted to break free to live a sinful life. It's very hard to explain even now and it took me a while before I really saw what he was doing to all of us.
Sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on. Again, it's very difficult to explain even now so I falter in trying to do so. My point in trying to was really just to say that when he treated me that way I felt (after 10 years of being married to him and being broken down as a person).. I felt that I deserved it... BUT.. when I realized and saw him treating my children the same way-- hurting them the same way and breaking them down, even as small children, I woke up and got us out of there. If it hadn't been for them I probably would have stayed with him (a lot longer, anyway) bc I struggled so hard about leaving and felt so guilty and wrong for doing it. He was also very spiritually abusive and used my love for God against me by telling me that if I left him that I would be an apostate and that God would never forgive me. That I would be turning my back on my family, my church, God, and my faith... and that it could never be made right. (All lies.) It was the hardest thing that I ever did, but of any decisions that I have made and questioned later, that was not one of them. I did go to counseling for several years bc of it all and it helped me very much, so I would encourage you to talk with someone who can help you sort it out and find the healing that you need.
As horrible as it is, and as I'm sure it was for your parents, that they saw him hit you... in a way it's so good that they did bc their knowing will help you because it validates what you know to be true (whereas people not knowing and not seeing it... thinking you have a perfect life...can create pressure inside of you to doubt yourself or not to take action against the abuse.) I had one person who saw what he was doing-- who was close enough to us that he would slip up around her (where he was perfect at playing the game with everyone else.. but.. bc she was quiet and around a lot, he would forget and make mistakes in front of her so she knew.. and it helped me to believe myself and to realize that I wasn't crazy like he'd convinced me that I was.) God really used her to help me see it for what it was and to get help.. and I am SO thankful.