Dear Prudence,
My partner and I (we’re engaged but not married) are both middle-aged and divorced from our first spouses, with teenage children. As is the case for many women, these past few weeks have brought back memories of an assault I experienced as a teenager. While mine wasn’t as traumatic as some, it was traumatic enough. I never told anyone at the time and just recently started sharing my memories with others, including my partner. I’ve been very upset and angry about the Kavanaugh nomination, and what he is alleged to have done reminds me of what I experienced, as we are around the same age and grew up in the same kind of atmosphere. My partner, who is otherwise a good and decent man, reacted to my anger by saying I needed to get over it and stop talking about it. Then he suggested that I might need some therapy. Then he basically said that he had a history of trying to help “troubled” women and he couldn’t fall into that pattern again. For the record, I am not “troubled.” I am a pretty well-adjusted person with a good job, no substance abuse or anger issues, and two wonderful children, and most people would describe me as pretty level-headed. I’m thinking this might be a deal breaker.
—Am I Overreacting?