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my mother is going to be the death of me.

17 replies

lucyellensmum · 12/10/2007 14:46

I just cannot stand it any more.

She has been here today ranting on about her sister (you may have read my other rants) and wanting me to phone her on the pretence of getting her to go to my mothers house so that my mum can have it out with her over things she thinks her sister has stolen from her house (it is perfectly feasable but impossible to prove, we are talking things like second hand duvet covers and curtains, not valuables, which is why it was not great surprise when the police didnt want to know). A perfectly reasonable request you would think? Well not when i know it could turn violent and i have just had enough of it all. Every morning more or less the phone goes at 8 am or even earlier and she is going on and on about something or other. I cannot reason with her. So now she has made me feel really guilty and shit for not doing this, but i know it would have been the wrong thing to do, and i just do not want to get involved. How can i do something that could lead to an 80 year old woman being hurt? i have no time for my mums sister, she is not a nice person but that is not the point, i just couldnt be involved in that.

I tried to tell my mum today, ive got enough on my plate, i just can't deal with this. I HAVE got enough on my plate, i have PND, i have a relationship that is hanging on by a thread and we have financial worries. My mum has her problems too, my father died two years ago and she is not over that.

So, why can't i be more sympathetic i can hear you all thinking, why? because i have put up with all of this shit from my mother for more years than i care to remember, family fueds, fueds with neighbours, completely unreasonable behaviour. My mum has helped me a lot, financially and practically and i am so grateful for that and i will do anything to help her out, but i have had ENOUGH i just dont have the answers, i mean, why WHY would a perfectly solvent woman want to into my mums house and swap ok stuff for stuff from jumble sales etc. The root of the problem im afraid is jealousy, the fact that my aunt has inherited a substancial amount of money - more than she could spend in her lifetime and i think my mum is jealous. I had a small part time job at the vets, it kept my brain active, but she let me down on childcare yesterday and due to illness, iether with her, dd or myself ive had to let them down lots of times, so i rang them and said i had to quit and i could tell that i had saved them from sacking me. So right now, i just don't need this, i can just about manage to keep my head together at the best of times and now this AGAIN. I just wish i could move away and wash my hands of it, but its not that simple, i am an only child and she has alienated her entire family so its only me to look after her. Her health is poor and she is going to need care at some point, probably not for a few years yet, but im dreading it, she is sooo abusive that i know that no external care agency or home will take her on and if i have to have her with me i know that my DP will leave, he just wouldnt be able to stand it. I'm not sure if our relationship is going to get through my depression to be honest, he has simply had enough, he says it is like living with a nutter, but i try so hard to keep things to myself, i dont tell him any of it now - normally i would have been on the phone to him now about my mum, but i know that it will end up in a row between us if i do, so i have to bottle it all up, this is my only outlet.

So, she walked out of my house because i wouldnt phone her and said she is going to go up there and beat the truth out of her, i mean, FFS, she is 73 years old and her sister is 80. This reads like something out of jerry springer i know and all of his disfunctional families, perhaps thats what this is, i have a PhD, its like a distant memory, the focused, assertive, cheerful happy person that i was, i had ambition, now im happy if i can get to the end of the day without losing it.

OP posts:
mdofdoom · 12/10/2007 14:51

Lucy, it's michaelad here from the Citalopram thread! Just a seasonal namechange.

Remind me again whereabouts you live... you sound like you're in desperate need of a cup and someone to talk to!

mdofdoom · 12/10/2007 14:51

cup of coffee and someone to rant at that is..

DANCESwithHughJackman · 12/10/2007 14:55

OH lucyellensmum ....((((((((HUGS)))))))))) you poor, poor thing. You sound like you have a toxic parent there. Your mum has to stop relying on you. Are you having any counselling at the moment for your PND?
I suffered with panic attacks and anxiety after ds was born and I had CBT therapy which really helped. Two things that really struck home were that it is ok to say NO. When I blathered about how I could do this my therapist would say 'why can't you say no? What's the worst that could happen? It's ok to say NO.
The second thing was that you are not responsible for the way other people behave, your mum has helped you, that was her choice, you are not tied to her because of her help in the past.
I would get caller ID and stop answering her calls in the morning. Tell her you are happy to talk to her but not first thing (what a way to start the day...) I have heard people mention the toxic parent thing on here before and there's a great book floating around about it, I'll try and find it. No doubt by the time I finish this essay a dozen other people will have answered you but I hope I help even a teeny bit. Will try and find that book....

DANCESwithHughJackman · 12/10/2007 14:57

here it is

lucyellensmum · 12/10/2007 15:08

i did wonder why you were suggesting a cup - i sat here talking to it for a while but nothing happened . What i need is a holiday, far away in some remote eastern european mountains with lots of folklore to research, dont know why, just fancy that - we can but gream.

I wish i could not answer the phone, but the trouble is, what if she is ill? Then what?

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DANCESwithHughJackman · 12/10/2007 15:12

If she's ill she can leave a message on your ANSWERING MACHINE or phone the doctor or an ambulance, she's a grown woman.

DANCESwithHughJackman · 12/10/2007 15:13

Did you even read my admittedly waffly post?!

DANCESwithHughJackman · 12/10/2007 15:22

I didn't mean that the way it sounded I mean...you aren't responsible for her behaviour only yours, if she chooses to ring then that's her decision if you chose not to be available then that's yours. You see what I mean?!

lucyellensmum · 12/10/2007 15:42

yes DANCES i did read it, thankyou, and i know exactly what you mean. I am hoping that she is going to be so pissed off with me that she is going to leave me alone for the weekend

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lucyellensmum · 13/10/2007 08:48

To update, yesterday she posted money through my door in an envelope with shopping money written on it, i did some shopping for her in the week, it came to about £10, but she gave me £50 - typical. But now she wont answer the phone and apparently wasnt in late last night when DD went round to fetch something.

Then on top of all that, DP has left the house in a strop this morning because he wanted me to write up an invoice for him and i wanted to know the specific details, but of course being that he cannot organise a piss up in a brewery he starts shouting at me, "just do me a effing reciept, i havent got time for this, you should have done it last night" well i would have done it last night if he hadn't asked me at 10.30 when i had already fallen asleep on the sofa after putting DD2 to bed at 9.30. So, then he has just stropped out of the house saying, don't bother to ring me my phone is on charge. I know he is stressed and i know i have given him so much stress with my PND but i dont think i really deserved taht this morning, especially after him springing on me yesterday that he was working today, so my day is going to be spent trying not to send sarcastic texts telling him to find a little dolly bird to do his admin because i cannot cope with being shouted at, etc etc. If i do that, then the whole weekend will be fucked. Im just sitting her now, crying and bracing myself for whatever shit my mother is going to bring me and knowing that i have to deal with it alone as he has made it clear he is not going to be there for me today.

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DANCESwithHughJackman · 13/10/2007 10:26

Oh lucyellensmum I have a friend suffering from long term anxiety and depression and her husband (who we knew first) is a good friend. I know it is very hard on partners of people suffering from depression but that is still no excuse for him to speak to you like that. Could you take your lo out for a treat - a cup of tea and a large piece of cake and something sticky for her (is that right, you have young dd). That way you are out of the house and not accessible to your mother - don't answer your mobile. Where do you live (roughly!) are you near me? (I'm south of London) Take care.

Fireflyfairy2 · 13/10/2007 10:36

Goddamn it girl people are going to have to see the thougher side of you this weekend!

Get your make-up on & have something to eat. Go out & enjoy yourself today instead of sitting at home stopping yourself from sending sarcastic texts!

As for your mother, that's exactly what she is, your mother, not the other way around! Let her look after herself. Tell her you will not be answering the phone first thing in the morning. If it were me I would wake up in dread that she was going to be ringing me first thing!! I would feel ill at the thought of such a routine!

How did your dp expect you to write a receipt if he didn't give you the details?

And I have coursework to do, homework to do & about 10 chapters of books to read before Monday.

In the next life I want to be a man!!

lucyellensmum · 13/10/2007 15:44

DP is a star really, he was just a bit rushed this morning and i should have done it last night - but he is cool, and DD and i have had a really lovely day today, one of those everything falling into place days AND we have stumbled across what i think will be her nursery

As for my mother, i saw her walking her dog so started to walk along to go and see her (thinking shit shit shit shit) and she turned round and walked back the other way when she saw me - all i can say is, thank god for that i know that is really selfish but i have had enough of her shit, if she wants to act like a child then she has to just get on with it, ive my own life and my own problems. I just feel so desperately sorry for her, ive all shes got and she is so terribly lonely

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lucyellensmum · 13/10/2007 15:46

Firefly, what are you studying? I loved being a student, i miss it.

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Fireflyfairy2 · 13/10/2007 20:22

Hi, sorry just seeing this thread now!

I'm in my final year of a journalism degree & a minor module in psychology. Bloody hard work but will hopefully be worth it

Well, you & your mum came to a crossroads today & she made her decision. I'd leave the ball in her court now & let her contact you if she wants. But if it's at 8am don't answer it!!!!!

lucyellensmum · 14/10/2007 08:37

definately worth it, i really envy people who can write.

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lucyellensmum · 15/10/2007 18:54

so, my mother hasnt contacted me all weekend, i feel shitty because ive rather enjoyed the break. But i am worried for her - i know she is OK because DD went round there yesterday but i know she will be brooding over her sister, im starting to think i should have phoned her like she asked me to, but i don't see why loyalty to my mother should make me do something i think is wrong. Anyway, her sister goes back to australia this week, so its either going to blow over (unlikely) or the shit is going to hit the fan in a big way. I am tempted to ring her to offer some shopping or something, but i don't want to get drawn into more aggro to be honest. I dont have the energy for it

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