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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think DS should have told me about GF's depression?

252 replies

Blackandwhitedog · 16/08/2015 15:41

Have NC'd for this. Not sure whether to feel frustrated, angry, guilty or all three.
Teenage DS is home from Uni for the Summer. He told us a couple of weeks ago that he has a new girlfriend at the same Uni and would like her to come to stay- of course that was no problem at all. We might be old-fashioned but DS knows the score and we arranged for her to stay in the spare room.
She seemed very nice and we had dinner as a family but within a couple of hours of her arrival I found them naked in bed at 8pm, with the door ajar, just across the landing from his 13 year old sister. I took DS to one side later and said how unimpressed I was.
They watched films on her laptop until late every night and for the next 3 mornings the GF did not get out of bed until 12 (though Ds did at least get up a bit earlier and stayed in his own room). They went out one afternoon but spent the rest of the days hanging around the house. On the fourth morning I was hoovering and Ds asked me to be quiet as she was asleep (it was 10.30). I said, (probably quite loudly, I admit), that I was not going to tiptoe around so that his GF could lie in bed all day.

Soon after she emerged, looking very miserable, to say she was actually very ill and needed to sleep for long periods of time. She started crying and went off to be comforted by DS. Ds then explained that she has clinical depression. He did not tell me before and now blames me for making it worse. I thanked them for telling me, reiterated that she was very welcome in our home and asked her to let me know what she needed to and that would be fine. She left later that day however and Ds now blames me for making her depression worse. I have since found out she is on anti-depressants and is taking a year out of Uni. They are both at a very high pressure Uni.
DH has no patience with depression so is no help. I have a good friend who has been struggling with depression since she experienced a devastating life-changing event, but she has always battled to get up and do things, though I know sleep is an issue. I think hers may be a different form though as there was a specific very shocking trigger, whereas the GF has found coping with Uni difficult I believe.
Was DS unreasonable in not warning us, she did not seem at all depressed until the last morning, or was I? I feel pretty upset as I like to think I've always been welcoming to his friends and this obviously did not go at all well. How would anyone else deal with this situation and how should I handle it next time, if there is one?

OP posts:
Findtheoldme · 16/08/2015 16:29

Scarydinosaurs- don't be silly. The OP is married, her son is not and she is entitled to not want her younger child knowing her brother has several lovers if he doesn't marry this girl. Parental sexual relations can not be compared to adult children's.

HedgehogAtHome · 16/08/2015 16:30

Sometimes I can't quite understand whether people are just ignorant of what it's like to be ill in that way

Ha, been there and got more than a few t-shirts. Not stupid, just aware that if I wanted allowances made, I had to make someone aware of why. There was a point I couldn't leave the house alone, DH came everywhere with me. I didn't just rock up with him though.

DressingGownFrown · 16/08/2015 16:31

I have awful depression, anxiety and some other (much milder) mental health issues.

In my own home, I sleep all day, am a slob etc, and at my Mum's house. We see a lot of my MIL and are close to her, so she doesn't mind if I go upstairs for a lie down, because I DO have a lot of problems with fatigue. I never talk to her about my MH, but I also had to take time out from uni with my illness and I was with DP and we were living together at the time, so she obviously knows.
I am very private about my health and no way would I behave like that in somebody else's house, especially the first time I meet them.
Either, don't tell anyone and act 'normal'; or warn people beforehand and act 'your normal'.
That also only covers the 'laziness', her illness wasn't an excuse for them to ignore your rules, which, by the way, I think are patronising and stupid, but they are your rules.

P.S - Just thought, I do sometimes tell people that I am having ongoing health problems and get fatigued, so she could have just said that.

trufflesnout · 16/08/2015 16:32

Hedgehog so where is your empathy? OP wouldn't have to be any good at mind-reading if she listened to her son's request. If she wanted to know why he made that particular request, she could have asked him about it quietly and privately later on.

lastqueenofscotland · 16/08/2015 16:32

I don't think you were being unreasonable. If someone stayed at my house and slept till noon I would think them rude and lazy! I can't guess that someone has reason to if I'm not forewarned. I would be desperately sympathetic if I knew and accommodating.
Staying in seperate rooms is not unreasonable IMO esp with younger children in the house.

IMO id not be annoyed at her but your son who's put you in a cruddy situation.

SmillasSenseOfSnow · 16/08/2015 16:33

The OP is married, her son is not and she is entitled to not want her younger child knowing her brother has several lovers if he doesn't marry this girl. Parental sexual relations can not be compared to adult children's.

LOL, what?

Biscuit
scarlets · 16/08/2015 16:34

I understand that once you'd been told of her illness, you were great about it. However, prior to that you treated them like a pair of recalcitrant 15 year olds by making them stay in separate rooms, so perhaps it's not surprising that they didn't feel inclined to confide in you. I also think that hoovering when a guest is still in bed is pretty bad form, and was maybe designed to make some sort of a point. You come across as a bit lofty tbh. It's a shame that her first memory of visiting your home won't be a positive one. Still, at their age the relationship is unlikely to last so in the end, it won't matter. Hopefully things will be better with the next one.

HedgehogAtHome · 16/08/2015 16:37

Asked him later why does a teen sleep in till 12 most days? Yeah, mental illness is clearly the logical leap with that.

BoyFromTheBigBadCity · 16/08/2015 16:38

Findtheoldme, unmarried adults can have sex.

I agree that if op didn't know the gf was ill, she wouldn't know the reason for the sleeping pattern. But I don't feel the need to disclose my health status to everyone I meet, and if it was so important for her to be awake why didn't you mentioned it on the first morning?

Not sure about being about them being I bed, but my parents 'old fashioned' rules has (in my case) put huge distance between us and made me feel like sex was dirty. Obviously, I don't know yor situation so this isn't necessarily the case here.

trufflesnout · 16/08/2015 16:38

Yeah sure. You're right. Fuck the GF, lazy teenage cunt. What an attention seeker she is. LOL.

ValancyJane · 16/08/2015 16:40

YANBU in my opinion, while I can understand that the girlfriend might not have wanted to disclose her depression to her boyfriend's parents on meeting them the first time, she and your DS equally cannot expect you to be psychic. I think your response once you knew was really considerate and understanding. I think possibly you shouldn't have made the comment about not tiptoeing around her as loudly as you did, but I would probably be a bit annoyed at being told what to do in my own home too!

In your shoes I'd probably ask your DS to convey your apologies and reiterate that she is welcome to visit again etc. I think it's one of those 'time will sort it' situations after a few more visits if their relationship goes the distance.

lastqueenofscotland · 16/08/2015 16:41

I don't think op said she needed her to be awake just she wanted to Hoover the house?!
Heaven forbid anyone wants to Hoover and doesn't want to sit around waiting till it's convenient. Imagine that someone might have something better to do....

HedgehogAtHome · 16/08/2015 16:41

Nice strawman Truffle, careful not to wake him with the hoover.

LHReturns · 16/08/2015 16:42

"The OP is married, her son is not and she is entitled to not want her younger child knowing her brother has several lovers if he doesn't marry this girl. Parental sexual relations can not be compared to adult children's."

I think this is a perfectly reasonable statement. No biscuit from me. OP had never met this girl,with no evidence it was a serious committed relationship. Ok for parents to ask for that much.

JiltedJoan · 16/08/2015 16:42

It's normal for a lot of people to be up well before 10.30 am. I've never slept in that much if I'm a guest - it's potentially inconveniencing your host.

trufflesnout · 16/08/2015 16:45

Sorry Hedgehog, I just really don't understand your point!

The OP has so many little elements that are unrelated to the GF's mental health status that it's really impossible to imagine what the climate of the household might have been like and how comfortable the GF felt there. If OP wanted openness and honesty about any illnesses from the start then the point stands that perhaps she could have been a bit more welcoming or flexible.

It's nothing to do with being psychic or how well you help your maybe-depressed-had-a-triggering-life-event-friends, just that the whole sorry ordeal could have been avoided if OP listened to her son when he asked her to maybe hoover a bit later Smile

JiltedJoan · 16/08/2015 16:48

Maybe if he'd have offered to hoover later he could have avoided the issue.

chickenfuckingpox · 16/08/2015 16:49

seriously they were naked with the door open without adding the thirteen year old into the mix that is rude in itself

i would have made the same remark about her lying in bed all day too

to be honest my kids are going to hate me because i wont be a parent who allows their children to bring people home and expect to be shagging and taking advantage my answer will be the same as my parents get a place of your own

i dont know why it is so fashionable to allow sex at the parents house seriously who wants to do that fucks sake i wouldn't be with anyone who couldn't afford a b&b somewhere i dont care if it means my kids will sneak around i hope it makes them think twice like me and my friends did out of my friendship group the permissive parents are the ones with the teen pregnancy/abortion

NeedAScarfForMyGiraffe · 16/08/2015 16:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MadrigalElectromotive · 16/08/2015 16:53

Let's hope for your sake that this relationship doesn't go the distance.

You sound overbearing and it is pretty inhospitable to hoover when you have guests sleeping, and then make barbed remarks about them in their hearing.

Why should she tell you details about her medical history? Why is it any of your business? Especially given that you show little to know understanding of depression - what does a depressed person "seem like"? And you DH needs to grow up - or does he have "no patience" with other serious illnesses? Cancer? Heart disease?

Your son is presumably an adult if he is at university - why were you treating him and his gf like children?

If I was her, I wouldn't be rushing back to see you. And it might all come back to bite you if they stay together - you may find her as frosty as you were once you want to go and stay with them etc. Good luck!

LHReturns · 16/08/2015 16:54

Chickenfuckingpox, I will be the same.

Pumpkinpositive · 16/08/2015 16:54

I wouldn't have been allowed to bring any boyfriends back to spend the night in my room at my parents home.

And if I decided to ignore their rules, got naked in bed with a bloke and left the bedroom door ajar enabling a younger sibling to possibly happen upon us, they would have murdered me.

Whatever happened to respect for your house, your rules? Seems to go out the window whenever the subject of expecting parents to put up a boy/girlfriend in their offspring's bedroom arises. Confused

Findtheoldme · 16/08/2015 16:54

Hmm. Obviously I wasn't saying unmarried people can't have sex. I just meant that the poster saying the son should be allowed to have sex because his sister would know their parents did wasn't comparable.

wellcoveredsparerib · 16/08/2015 16:54

Op's son sound like a very self absorbed teenager, expecting you to be so delighted he's home for the holidays that you will act like a particularly deferential hotel manager to him and gf and rather put out when you don't fill that role. I too think her mental health is a red herring.

rebbles · 16/08/2015 16:55

YANBU at all. They shouldn't have been naked in bed and if it was me as soon as I saw that I would have asked her to leave. It's disrespectful.

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