Women stand up & take your happiness back!!!

I just had lunch with a very close friend who spent the better part of the hour spilling her guts about how horrible her marriage & how unhappy she is. My heart broke for her. She is unhappy, riddled with anxiety, confidence is at an all time low, depressed and scared. All this because she doesn't have the best marriage. It's not that her husband beats her or is emotionally abusive to her at all. She's living with someone that she loves, or once was in love with but isn't anymore. They have a child which in her mind obligates her to stay with him. They haven't had sex in 3+ years, they don't eat dinner together, they don't laugh together, they don't really spend any time together at all. According to her he is very selfish and spends what time he is at home locked in a room playing video games.. and not even with their kid! The bulk of all household chores and bill paying are her sole responsibility as she is a stay at home mom. Her husband apparently does have a bad temper, had embarrassed her on numerous occasions by being rude and has alienated her from her family. To see my friend that I love and care for in this state really upsets me. My first instinct is to tell her to leave go be happy but that isn't easy. How do you tell someone to break up a family? She is very concerned that this would really kill her child. I kept quite listening to how it's all her husband's fault, but then it hit me. She has chosen to live like this, she chose to let your husband treat her, her child & their marriage like this. Women need to need to take responsibility for their own happiness. Marriage is compromise, it's hard, ugly at times but damn it women need to STAND UP & claim their own happiness. If they are unhappy being dependent on someone that they feel doesn't treat them well, or maybe they just fell out of love then they need to say something. I am not an advocate for divorce by any means, but I do feel like that you should give your spouse the chance to change or make things better. Tell them that your needs aren't being met, tell them that you hate it when they lock themselves up playing video games, tell them that you will not do all the housework yourself! For goodness sake just stand the fuck up for yourself & your kid! Try to tell them that you want to set an example for your child of what a good relationship should be & this isn't it! Don't complain to a friend but never tell the man. Give him a chance to fix it and then if it doesn't work then leave but at least try.. accept your role in the decline of the marriage. You sat back & let it all happen. You'd never let your child behave that way so why do you let your husband? My husband knows what I expect out of his behavior and if for some reason things start to go off track I say something immediately and we work together to fix it. I demand a certain behavior of man that I am with and won't accept any less. However I do not demand anything that I'm not also willing to give myself. Example- time, I expect that you will spend time with me, as much as our lives, work & kids allow. If you rent a video game, play it but you better make time for me too. Just like I do for you. I demand to be a priority & I demand that our marriage be a priority. My husband understood that the day he married me, and demands the same of me. I think too many women get complacent, comfortable & dependent on men. They think that men are going to waltz in take care of them & live that fairytale. Sadly life is not that way, women need to take charge of their own happiness, be independent and set an example for their kids of what a strong woman can be. Now please don't misunderstand me I'm not getting all feminist fanatical, I just think that a strong woman can be an excellent mate & mother while also being independent! Wish more of my friends would stand up for their happiness!! Tomorrow isn't promised, and you need to make the most of this life instead of wasting it being unhappy and living a life you hate.