Help! How do you keep from exploding. And if you don’t speak-up how do you keep from being eaten alive from the inside out? I’ve been on this Care sight for years, I’ve read tons of books and have seen a psychologist. I’ve heard all the recommendations about “taking care of myself”, I get it. I’m doing everything I can to save myself. BUT, I feel as if I’ve got a cement block tied to my ankle every day of my life, every minute of my life. Never, ever have I done so much for such abuse in return. With everyday that goes by my 90 year old mother gets nastier, more domineering, spiteful and divisive. She’s jealous and resentful of my friendships and has always attempted to create friction amongst her children.
She lives very well, independently and largely on my dime. I’ve bitten my tongue raw, internalized the stress and now I feel it’s affecting my health. It’s only gotten worse since the pandemic. I learned a while ago that when I express any frustration whatsoever it’s met with retaliation. I’m tired or venting to my friends, and it’s obvious they’re tired of hearing it. They listen and say, gee I’m sorry. I don’t know where to turn. I have six siblings who won’t deal with her and use her personality as their excuse. I’ve given up on thinking there’s any support there.
Can anyone tell me, an I wrong for not speaking up and then suffering the retaliation?
Dh now has to go all alone to visit her and he comes home and lays on the bed with a pillow over his head. If he was capable of crying, I think he would.
After 45 years of h*ll with this harridan, I just HAD it, one Sunday afternoon. She was in full hysteria mode and screaming at ME, when I was asked a question, and I'd try to answer her, she'd scream at me to shut up! (DH was there, ignoring it as best he could.)
Something snapped.
While she was screaming at me, I grabbed a Diet Coke, patted her on the shoulder and said "I'm giving you the best gift you ever got. I'm leaving and I will never see you again. If that doesn't make you happy, I don't know what will." I exited and slammed the back door for emphasis.
Walked to my sister's (about 1/2 mile) and by the time I got there I was laughing pretty hard.
Dh was NOT amused, to say the least. He picked me up and said that his mother doesn't want me to sing at her funeral now.
Like I was going to in the first place.
Please don't go 45 years in fear/obligation/guilt to keep a relationship alive that has long since died.
Leave.
Block her phone number. No one deserves this level of abuse.
Please read the book "Boundaries" by Townsend and Cloud. Read up on Fear, Obligation and Guilt, also known as F.O.G. Read about children of narcissistic parents.
Your siblings have figured this out. I think you should too.
Either your mother can pay for her own care or she can get public assistsnce like Medicaid to deal with that. This is NOT your job.
And, what about YOUR retirement? If mother is living largely off of YOUR money, what happens to the savings you should be accruing to use yourself for later on in life? Women like this live to be 100 because they use others to release their stress on. WE are the ones to die young because of it.
Wise up before it's too late. Realize why your siblings are doing what they're doing, and either remove yourself from the situation entirely or set down some VERY strict boundaries as to what you will and will not do for her. And then stick to those rules like GLUE. One tiny little crack in the armor and BAM, she'll slither back in like a snake. It's how they roll.
Good luck!
Your problem is you have allowed it to fester. Which is not good. You need to tell her how you feel. Mother or not. I would also tell her if she doesn't change her ways, you will be backing off and maybe eventually pulling the financial aid too. She will die a very lonely old lady. Tell her there are HUD apts that charge rent by scale. She has 1000 in income she pays 30% of that for rent. Low income apts too. You can do this in a calm, even manor. No need to raise your voice. Sit in front of her and look her straight in the eyes. If she gets mad she gets mad. She can't do anything to you. By paying her way you are the one holding the bag and this is what she needs to realize. That without you footing the bill she would not be living the way she is. She is lucky to have one of her children care and look how she treats him. I see no problem in a little threat with some people. Sometimes you can get thru others you can't. Once you say this to her, then you can set boundries. When and what you will do for her. When she gets nasty, hang up the phone or walk out. No one says u must pick up her calls or we can't walk away. Blocking is so nice because you don't know they have tried to call. Its time you took the bull by the horn. Start out saying "I have let ur abuse go on for too long..."
Anyway.
The reason I mention it is that I wonder what feelings it might arouse in you. In your replies to people's answers, you constantly refer to your belief (which I wholly share) in treating others with respect and how that is not working for you.
This leads me to believe that what has perhaps become distorted, terribly distorted, is your definition of what constitutes respect, and where its limits are, and how you can behave kindly - but simultaneously with *self*-respect - when those limits are seriously exceeded.
Why do you constantly bite your tongue? Let's take an example: your mother says something spiteful to you, and hurts your feelings. If your impulse is to swear at her in retaliation and say something equally hurtful back at her, then yes - bite your tongue. Don't do that! But that doesn't mean there is anything wrong at all - quite the opposite - in challenging what your mother says and, in a dignified and fair way, even rebuking her.
Do say more about what's happening and what you think. Don't give up. It might be too late to make your mother more comfortable (behaviour like this often stems from internalised rage and pain), but it's not too late for you.
It sounds as if you are hanging on by a thread. Watch out, threads break!
I see that you did reach out to a professional. That’s great. Do you mind sharing what was said? One thing my therapist said to me that really helped was, “I may say things that you don’t want to hear. Listen anyway or leave!”
I did listen. Guess what? Those things were exactly what I needed to hear and shocked me into changing my outlook. I urge you to consider what your therapist said as being useful.
Take a breather! I didn’t even breathe properly when I was completely stressed. I wasn’t even aware of it until my therapist told me that I would speak without breathing and then all of a sudden gasp for air. The breathing exercises that he taught me helps tremendously under stress.
What helps the most is to start being open to positive change. Your mom has lived most of her life, right? You said yourself, very well too, right? Isn’t your life worth just as much?
Be open to start living your life well. Your mom abused you. You don’t deserve that. She is being manipulative because she is getting away with it. Guess who told me that? Yep, my therapist informed me that he saw a pattern of manipulation from my mom.
My therapist wasn’t a person that was quick to judge. He knew mom’s behavior wasn’t due to having a bad day, it was a solid pattern that had formed.
It was up to me to change. She wasn’t going to change. Make sense? I don’t have all the answers to anyone’s problems but I did deal with a mom who caused me misery and I can empathize with you.
You need more than empathy from us on the forum. The only thing that will stop the misery is to not allow your mom to have you jumping through a million hoops!
Tell her that her free ride is over and that you are going on a journey of your own.
The more knowledge you have the more that you will grow. Be open to what can help you.
Best wishes to you.
at behavior. You don’t give many details but sounds like it’s time to step back and minimize communication with your mom.
And Freud said the definition of insanity is repeating an action over and over and expecting a different outcome. Your Mom isn’t going to change so you can only change the way you react to her nastiness. What would you do if she want related to you?
Vent your frustrations here, find a support group, find a therapist. Stop using your friends for venting unless they ask, give a quick update and change the subject.
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