Fair warning this post contains spoilers of the Neflix show, Maid. We are not affiliated with Netflix and this is only about the show, not the book.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last warning before possible spoilers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maid is a show on Netflix about a woman named Alex who is trying to flee her abusive, alcoholic significant other, Sean. Alex and Sean share a daughter, Maddy, and Alex is financially dependent on Sean. Alex leaving with Maddy is complicated by multiple issues; no supportive family or friends, very low funds, lack of government assistance, and the court system not understanding Sean\u2019s abuse of Alex and alcohol.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching the TV show Maid was very triggering for me. Everyone\u2019s relationship with an addict spouse is different but I could relate to quite a few things in the show. The first being the lack of a supportive family to run to when things got bad. My family is not unsupportive per se but they were clueless about the realities of addiction so if I had left my family would have accused me of being dramatic. Alex had a different situation than I did but my point is, not everyone has a support system to help them escape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fear of leaving because of a child is also very real. As we saw in the first few episodes Alex actually lost Maddy to Sean through the courts. I have spoken to so many women who stay with an addict because of their children. They do not think a two parent household is better for a child but they are terrified of a child being sent for unsupervised visitation with an addict. It is extremely hard to collect proof of what addicts have done sometimes and even if we collected proof, it might be allowed in court.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gaslighting and confusion if you are not being physically abused is hard to explain. When Alex went to the shelter she was almost unsure if what she was going through was abuse. I could really relate to the confusion about abuse. When I hit my end point with Turbo I was confused about how I was being treated. The gaslighting had me questioning my version and interpretation of events that had happened while he was raging. The fact that he was able to hide the terrible behavior from our friends also had me confused about his treatment of me. On the outside Turbo was a great father and caring husband who would never hurt anyone. His version of events were slightly believed by my friends and I would hear my friend play devil\u2019s advocate when I would explain how I was treated. Emotional abuse is also hard to prove in court so I often wondered how I would explain to anyone what I had been going through for years. Even after sobriety people often wonder how I did not see the signs or why I put up with it for so long. The judgment even after you leave or after the person gets sober can be hard to deal with for some people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another issue that hit home was the mutual friends and neutral friends. I understand that my friends do not have the responsibility to mediate fights but it is rough when none of them take your abusive situation seriously. When Alex\u2019s friends said there were two sides to every story that is typically true but not when addiction\/alcoholism is involved. The addict\u2019s version of events is usually not true because their memory is questionable and they will always spin a story that puts them in the best light possible. It is even more lonely when people treat you this way because you feel even more isolated with your abuser.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the show, Maddy\u2019s birthday party also hit home for me. When you try to do something nice or fun for your child, or you find yourself in a slightly better position in life. The addict\/alcoholic always manages to ruin it. It hurt when I saw Alex get evicted from a beautiful and affordable place because of Sean\u2019s actions, I cried for her. There were so many times Turbo emptied our savings or damaged something of mine because he was drunk\/high. There were so many days that I initially looked forward to such as birthdays, holidays and trips that he managed to ruin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end Alex is able to leave and head to better days and a brighter future for herself and her daughter. Sean has also realized his alcoholism is damaging to Maddy and signs over custody to Alex. I found this a bit unbelievable because addicts\/alcoholics rarely admit when they are wrong and rarely admit they have a problem. I think maybe, Sean\u2019s \u201crock bottom\u201d was possibly endangering his daughter but after everything Alex had been through it seemed almost too easy in the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I wish there was a second season of the show because getting away from the addict does not fix everything overnight. The addict getting sober also does not fix everything overnight. I would be interested to see the character of Alex grow and deal with the trauma that she had endured for years. I also wonder how the abuse Maddy witnessed impacted her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This show is wonderful and I hope it makes people more aware of addiction and abuse. I will warn anyone who has dealt with addiction that this is a very hard show to watch. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fair warning this post contains spoilers of the Neflix show, Maid. We are not affiliated with Netflix and this is only about the show, not the book.\u00a0 Last warning before possible spoilers. Maid is a show on Netflix about a woman named Alex who is trying to flee her abusive, alcoholic significant other, Sean. Alex … <\/p>\n