My MIlL is very unwell. She has since the loss of a husband in for the last 15 years suffered on and off with depression and anxiety. She was at one time hospitalised for self harm but that was in the early days. Ever since then she's been in and out of therapy and on and off antidepressants and anxiety medication. She has been doing ok always managing but she's never happy.
Recently her anxiety is taking a really bad turn. She can't leave the house she can barely leave her room when people come to visit. She struggles to eat and is evasive about her welbeing. She doesn't leave the house. She's being visited by a community nurse and has been to her GP.
My husband and I live a 6 hour drive away so going to see her it's difficult. I don't think the answer is her moving here as she has a good support network there. We're going to visit soon she hasn't wanted us to come up until now as it's been too anxiety provoking.
My husband hasn't wanted to just go without her permission as that's not how they work and he wanted to respect her wishes. But I'm really worried about her. The fact that she is self harmed before and that I have experience of suicide in my family makes me worry that she might take her own life. People never realise it can happen to someone they know until it does.
I'm not sure my husband or his brother are taking it seriously enough. When the brother recently went over he complained that after a drive she hadn't made them a meal when she can barely feed herself.
I'm just not sure how we can help. Proximity would help but we cannot uproot our lives and jobs and nor can she.
Sorry it's such a long post but has anyone else been in a similar situation?