"So often, it's clear that until someone gets out of an abusive relationship, they don't recognize how often they make excuses for a partner's abuse, self-blame or rationalize their abuse away with a million different excuses and fables." Here, Scarleteen message board users share the excuses they made (to themselves and others) for a partner's abusive behaviour, reasons and explanations that made much less sense (if any sense at all) once they were free of the abusive relationship. These excuses range from taking responsibility on self, blaming characteristics and circumstances the abusive partner had no control over, to using practical reasons for remaining in an unhealthy partnership.