She has dominated her childrens' lives with little concern for anyones' feeling but her own. She is now in a wonderful assisted living and her dementia (I think) has illuminated her personality into a person who I can no longer bear to be around. She has again managed to alienate everyone around her with her insults and insensitivity. She is nasty and uncooperative with the aids (who are wonderful) And complains, complains, complains about everyone, everything and blames my sister and myself for the air she breathes. I am sick of her and I don't want to visit her anymore and don't feel that my adult children need to be manipulated like I was and be around her negative attitude anymore. I hate feeling obligated to have her at my house as I have every holiday of our lives and force my children to "tolerate" her for my sake. The guilt is unbearable but I feel that now being 60 years old I would like to feel that this person does not dominate my whole life. I would like to have a happy holiday for a change and have my children WANT to come home (without Grandma always there)
There has never been any pleasing her before and now she sends me into bouts of depression that I have a hard time shaking. Am I alone? I feel like a selfish person but I don't like her now and never did before. The guilt is killing me.
I don't think I could have a conversation about this with her doctor, she can be absolutely charming with others when she wants, he would never understand this side of her.
this situation seems hopeless to me. but I do appreciate your reply : )
And who wants their headstone to read: Here lies YOU. You wasted your life being angry, being sad, being resentful, being vindictive, being ridiculous, and now you are dead. The end.
It is a sad thing, which unfortunately does describe the lives of some fellow human beings in this world. The blind spot a mile wide. The hate, fear, and resentment that makes someone a prisoner, unable to give and receive love. You did not cause it, and if by some miracle you find the key to fixing it, it truly is a miracle. Most of the time, nothing ever changes because the walls just keep going up higher, defending whatever sense of self they may have. OK, she just got diagnosed with cancer and that alone can make someone unbelievably stressed and desperate, but your post indicates this is more lifelong and at most it only added fuel to a smoldering fire. Protect your children from it, protect your heart from it - it may mean limiting exposure to her, keeping your own contacts as short and sweet as possible. Do what you can. You do not deserve the guilt and shame, and your mother should not have treated you as if you did...somehow you and your siblings have grown up and have compassion, empathy and normal human feelings despite that. Sure if there is a chance that psychological or psychiatric treatment would help, use any leverage you can think of to make it happen for her, such as someone she trusts or confides in...but if she refuses, as she likely will, because most people like this cannot allow themselves to entertain the idea that they could own any part of any problem in their own lives or relationships, there may not be anything else you can do to really effect a big change in attitude. If there is some little thing you can do that might let her feel better and cared for, go for it, but don't count on anything. It is painful to give up the dream that a parent could start acting like one and give love and support, or be grateful instead of critical and bitter, but sometimes that is exactly what you have to do to reduce the intense, chronic grief and longing to a manageable level of sadness that you can live with.
Please tell me what to do!!! I am slowly sinking into depression and I can't shake the guilt of all that is happening.
It sounds like your mother emotionally groomed you to respond as you have. You need some boundaries for your own protection. It possibly would be helpful to see a therapist to help you detach and shake the grip of guilt in your life. You have not done anything wrong to feel guilty about, How was your life up to this point?
If she's been how she is now, then it sounds like your mother has an undiagnosed personality disorder like narcissism or borderline. She can't be reasoned with and as you see, trying to only makes things worse. Next time she throws the fear angle at you about taking you out of her will, just tell her to go ahead and do that for you can live without it. My MIL loves to use that line to keep her other daughter in line.
Love, prayers and cyber hugs
I am so glad that things are different for you. I don't know if she drank a lot when you were young, but I know it wasn't easy for you if she did. You may have had a lifetime of taking care of a drinking mother. As adults, we can be torn. It is hard to watch someone we care about hit bottom, but many times if we prop them up, they just continue the self destruction. I wish I had some solution, but I watched my brother go down the same path to his death. There was nothing anyone could do, because Jack Daniels is the only relationship he really cared enough about. He caused a lot of hardship along the way. The only thing we can do is step back and not get caught in it.
There are some really good things on setting boundaries in this type situation. The main thing is to recognize that you are worth it, and that what you need to do matters. It can be so easy to look at the other person and what they need to do, but in situations like this one it is better to look at ourselves. We deserve to be healthy and happy and not pulled down into the pit with someone who needs to help herself -- something she may or may not be able to do. You may find you love her more if you're not being pulled down by her.
She is ungrateful, she is disagreeable, she is selfish, self-centered and uncompassionate. She has no friends and no interests. She has pretty much been a child most of her life.
Do not feel Guilt, she is being taken care of. The full circle has come around, so now she is where she should be and it is Karma. I had to go over this with myself. People who are unable to show warmth, respect, gratitude, love, compassion, etc toward others do not deserve those feelings back. WHY should they get anything back, because they exist??? And how does it benefit you to give someone love when they kick you in the face each time you do? When people out there continue to say, "oh she is old, she has dementia, she still deserves care, etc.... they are asking you to accept abuse. People who abuse continue to abuse if they are allowed to do it. It will not end. WE tell children not to accept abuse from anyone. Why do we now tell caregivers to accept abuse from their elder parents??
My husband and I stopped it after a year and half. My mother got to the point that she was saving up her poop and deliberately going in her pants ever 3 days, so that she could watch me clean her up and laugh at me while I was doing it. She started collecting knifes from drawers and hiding them and sneaking up on us while sleeping holding the knife. She began fishing garbage out of the garbage can and putting it back in the refrigerator. We experienced so many bizarre behaviors that were both dementia related and mean-spirited that we put an end to it, by sending her to a geriatric center and then on to assisted living. Time to end the madness when it is dangerous to your family even if it is mostly mental. It still does great harm.
He is still allowed to speak to them on the phone. I cannot talk to her as she becomes so verbally abusive. It seems the older she has become her bitterness has grown. She is breaking my heart now and feeling like I should stay away. Do I let her once again get her own way or move and hope she will accept that I want to be close to my dad. Thank you for any suggestions
My sister and I have had enough, I went to the nursing home today and told her that myself and my sister (who lives 800 miles away in another state) will no longer take her abuse, we are done. We will not be seeing her anymore from this day forward. I felt SOOO MUCH BETTER to get that load off of my shoulders and now feel like I can continue my life with my husband and adult children without "mom" hanging over my head and worrying about what she is going to do or say next to hurt me further. My real father died in 2000, mom remarried in 2004 to man we knew. He was ok at first, but he is also causing problems within our family so we have disowned him as well, due to some of the stunts he has pulled since mom went into the nursing home. Distance yourself from the pain and hurt coming from your mother...you will feel much better about yourself.
Cannot pay it and pay her medical, pharmacy and doctor bills. Not to mention all her living expenses. Having her living with me is the worse mistake I have ever made.Nothing pleases her everything I do is negative. She sits and sleeps most of the day and watches horrible races news!! She dwells on anything that is bad and seems to enjoy it. I stay away from her as much as possible! It is like dealing with a nine year old!!!
Your mother's funds pay for her care, and when she is out of funds and assets, Medicaid kicks in. I assume she also gets social security pay and Medicare health/drug coverage. Medicaid will pay for long term care for the indigent.
You have options. You have to take control though and make it happen.
Minimally, control your own TV. Maybe her contact with the news & talk-TV ought to be eliminated.
It sounds like your mom has dementia and needs to be in an environment structured for dementia patients. Get your house back again and enjoy life. You only get this one.
Those may be considerations for other purposes. Determining treatment needs, like PT, OT, in-home help, care plans. But Medicaid doesn't do that assessment. Maybe somebody told you it was for Medicaid just to avoid the complicated explanation.
YOU need to STOP paying. You are only hurting yourself. It sounds like your mom needs to be in a dementia care facility, not a retirement home. It sounds like this is too much for you.
There is assistance to get her placed in care. The facility business office and the social worker are there to help. Next time she goes into the hospital, don't bring her home. You don't have to. There is no law in the land that requires you to do in-home care, especially when it's emotionally and physically too much. The hospital will find a place that can take her, and I strongly suggest you let them.
There are studies from 2009 that show the typical caregiver is female, unpaid, near 50, and has 20+ years of caregiving without pay ahead. The financial sacrifice is in the billions of dollars. Not only is it a social well being matter, a matter of conscience, but a huge economic problem for everyone concerned.
With typical being near 50, that means there are a lot of people well beyond that age doing unpaid caregiving, as well as below that age. People in their prime earning years who are not earning, not saving, and in no way prepared for their own old age.
Think also about the training factor. How many home careproviders have had any training whatsoever? Safety training? Medical training? Personal attendant training? Mandatory precaution training? My estimate is very few have. What risk does that put the caregiver and receiver at for contamination, illness, or injury?
I found on my journey through this that if you don't know what to do, it's very difficult to find out. I learned the most from this site and people on it. Who looks out for the home care providers who don't have the education, access, or ability to go do their own research?
My theory is that there are an awful lot of elders out there who are living in substandard conditions with an unprepared care provider. Think about the potential for abuse in both directions. Who will know if the elder never goes out to see a doctor or has anyone come into the house for care work? This is not a good situation for anyone.
To top the cake we now have my father GreedSer too; mean viscious and won´t give us a penny for his expenses, he also HATES me & even accuses me of having contributed to my youngest sister´s death (she had ca spread to liver)...he seems to be demented, but has pety normal behaviour when strangers are around...I want out, but yes, the killer guilt doesn´t just vanish! We do, however, have to stand up for our rights; I´m 58 (abused since childhood), and at this age one fooot is alreading entering old age; if these abusers last 5 more years, we´re done! We have a life to live! Neither of my parents ever had to care for their elders; it must skip a generation! Hugs to all