Do you know someone who is "hard work"?

[BiggyJ]

Spending time with family over Christmas, and there's this one person who is really hard work.
They're hard to please.
Nothing is ever good enough and in the end, I just stop bothering to interact.

Anyone else have someone like this in their life?

My dh can be a bit hard work he always assumes he knows what people are thinking and it's always negative.
I just agree with whatever nonsense he comes out with now.

My grandmother. She’s 86 but it isn’t age related, she’s been like this her entire life.

I’ve never met anyone else who so revels in being miserable and making others feel the same.

I remember that feeling, a really tough time. It’s gets better I promise. Even the AuDHD bit when you’re out the other side

DD and DB. DB is way worse though.

It’s also mildly entertaining because they keep pointing at each other when they’re one and the same.

Yes- can just be quite combative and always takes everything personally even when it bears no reflection on her at all - for example I might comment to DH lightheartedly that my brother needs to find himself someone his own age with grown up kids and stop dating 30 year olds with ticking biological clocks ( he has a grown up son and doesn’t want more kids so this always ends in tears). This “hard work” person then got the arse with me because apparently that means I think older women with no kids like her aren’t good enough for him because I didn’t specifically list them in a throwaway jokey comment about dbri’s dating habits and obviously not the point I was making. Lots of cases like this.

However she has lots of good points too so we rub along ok- I just have to go and bang my head against a wall periodically 🤣

You know what though, this thread immediately made me think of a particular friend and motivated me to check in with her. She is really fucking hard work but she has not had an easy time and she isn't a bad person deep down. Just a lot of work!

@Swearwolf what a nice friend you are, she's lucky to have you 🙂

My hard work person is just an awkward bugger, contrary to a fault and is very passive aggressive. Can't go no contact with them, but to be perfectly honest that would probably be best for all involved.

Teenage daughter/step-daughter?!

Does her name begin with N? Sounds like someone I know to an absolute t!

My stepmother. Does a really good impression of a happy, easygoing, go-with-the-flow person but I come away exhausted every time. I’ve never had an encounter with her where she doesn’t change the plan, or pull a switcheroo, or put us through labyrinthine conversations to change the plan only to end up back at square one – only now we’re all exhausted and antsy and confused, thinking “But this is what we were doing in the first place, why did we need to scenario plan and prep for Plan B only to have it squashed at the last minute?” It’s a control thing. But she does it with her own plans too!

Name does not begin with N, she is not a teenager, she is a 50 year old full assed grown woman.
Refuses HRT because apparently it’s utter shite and every single women ever who has taken or is on it are fucking thick, stupid arseholes who should do what she does which is spend £50+ a month at Holland & Barrat on various supplements….. do you see what we are up against!!!!!

She is also never wrong.

I cannot believe that there is more than one of this person in this whole entire world!!

Yup, the one I know is mid 50s. Appallingly badly behaved and so similar to the woman you describe.