I think that that is a really big step @Faith-and-Hope .
And lets face it, it is easier to accept that he is mentally ill than it is to accept that he is abusive. He probably wasn't always like that.......but over the years things happen. His parents may have passed and his business success would have impacted things. Your adult children will probably never see it that way because they want to keep that attachment with him, and still seek his approval and love.
But abusive people get arthritis, abusive people get cancer, abusive people get lung disease, abusive people get arthritis, abusive people get strokes, it is really not that surprising that they can also get schizophrenia, BP, BPD, PTSD, anxiety and depression. In fact you'd expect that statistically they will.
You're still at the early stages @Faith-and-Hope even though the divorce has gone through officially it takes some time for the emotions to catch up, so you can work through them. Betrayal is a devastating emotion to work through and the power of the mind to suppress never ceases to amaze me the older I get. I am working through some fresh trauma memories at the moment, I think that's why I have relapsed and I think that they are only surfacing because I severed ties with my mother, and I have some semblance of safety for the first time in my life at the ripe old age of 40. My mind and heart is opening again because the body doesn't lie and remembers everything and it is absolutely terrifying, but I know deep down I will get through it and I will be OK. Even if I end up back in the honeymoon suite, which I am hoping I will not, but even if I do, I know I will be OK. And you will too! The adrenalin takes its toll on our health but you will get through!
Big hugs, Corny 