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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Alcoholic mother.

10 replies

TheFlyingFishFinger · 02/05/2012 22:36

Sorry if this turns out to be mega long, just need to get the main things down.

My mum has been an alcoholic for about 10 years. she split up with my dad about 4-5 years ago. he was very abusive to us and my mum, mum left him then she hit a downward spiral.

Didnt know how bad her drinking was for a long time as she hid it really well. she used to drink vodka from water bottles when she wasnt at home and i would only see her for short periods of time and wouldnt notice that she had been dinking. she would vanish for days at a time but because i had moved out, i never knew this.

when DD was four, i had the gas man coming round when i was at work. my mum said she would pick DD up fom childminders and come home to my house and wait for the gas man. when i finished work and got home, she wasnt answering the front door to me and i knew something wasnt right (she had my key) so i rang DP to get his key but on his way home mum answered the oor, she was absolutely steaming drunk, i was furious and kicked her out telling her not to contact me again. found DD in bed, fully clothed asleep.

DP got home and the neighbours stopped him on the way in and told him hat my mum had passed out outside my front door and my DD had been calling "mummy. mummy. let me in" up at the windows, at which point they had come out and let them both in.

after that i didnt talk to my mum for about a year, i just absolutely hated her and hated myself for what had happened.

now 4 years on and my mum has never been allowed to be alone with DD since, and i have had to deal with countless amounts of shit from her. I've stuck by her this last 3 years, ive been at he hospial bed when shes been fitting, ive helped her when shes invited tramps into her home and needs me to get rid of them. ive lent her money. none of her family want to know her. the drs told me a year ago that she would be lucky to live to see this year. shes basically living on borrowed time.

The whole situation is straining on me, i dont know what to do. do i stick by her or do i let her go?

i love my mum. but when she is drunk she says the most foul things to me. i had to leave my job because she got drunk and stood outsie my work screaming to everyone how my dad had raped me (this is not true as far as im aware)

Im fed up of being the strong one, the one that sorts all the shit out. im worried about what will happen if i cut contact, what if she calls me from hospital and she is dying, what if i ignore the call? id never forgive myself.

sorry this is so so long :(

OP posts:
Selks · 02/05/2012 22:41

Oh goodness, I'm so sorry that you're having to cope with this.
I have no wise words I'm afraid other than you need yo do what's best for you - only you can decide whether to stay in contact with your mum or not.
Maybe some form of more limited contact might work better?

Selks · 02/05/2012 22:41

Typo - should be 'to do'.

oikopolis · 02/05/2012 23:04

oh OP you poor thing.

i think you need to go to an Al-Anon meeting. they're meetings for the loved ones of alcoholics. you will find so much support, understanding and eventually good advice there. just google Al-Anon and the name of your town/village. there are also online meetings.

you need to realise you can't help your mum. i know it's very sad but as long as you're helping, giving money, fixing things for her, turning up at her side to take her abuse, she has no reason to get well iyswim.

it's hard to do but the loving thing is to detach from your mum. you decide how much you do that - for example, you might decide you will go to hosp to visit her when she ends up there, BUT you won't contact her or bail her out in any way beyond that, unless she has started her recovery process.

Al-Anon will help you see that, and will also help you find the strength to do the right (and very hard) thing.

i just wanted to extend my sympathy and support to you, this must be terribly difficult for you. i have an alcoholic family and i really do understand. it is heartbreaking but you will get through this.

Springsister · 02/05/2012 23:17

It's a big bag of shit having an alcoholic mum. I know.

Agree with oikopolis. Get yourself some support and limit your contact. It's hard but very necessary.

Sorry you're having to go through this.

Shellywelly1973 · 02/05/2012 23:31

God its so hard when your mum is an alcoholic. My mother has been an alcoholic for about 20yrs&its killing her,slowly but surely.

We've tried everything but she can't /won't stop.

So I've been forced to make the very difficult choice of detaching myself. You inevitably can't stop her drinking but you can control how you deal with her.

I decided I couldn't allow my Dc to see her drunk. I couldn't allow her to verbally abuse them as she had me. I wouldn't allow her to emotionally abuse my Dc...basically damage limitation.

But it still hurts like hell, its embarrassing &so stressful especially if there is a family social occasion.

I contacted Al Anon- we can only look after ourselves,when they won't let us look after them.

Take care of yourself.

Llareggub · 02/05/2012 23:36

Agree with all the suggestions to go to al-anon. I have an alcoholic in my life and I have recently separated from him after 10 years of marriage. Personally I have found it do liberating to be free from the strain. We all feel happier for it.

TheFlyingFishFinger · 02/05/2012 23:53

wow you're all so lovely. thank you.

I do want to detatch myself, and i have done it before. But i do absolutely get eaten up with guilt. my family dont talk to her an shes lost ALL her friends.

DD see her but only when i've seen her first and know shes not had a rink.

she can go a month without a drink sometimes, but then will be completely drunk for 3 months after.

alot of my friends say not to cut contact, you only get one mum etc etc but they dont see how hard it gets.. and it does get so so hard.

she turns up on my doorstep sometimes and i mostly let her in, once i called the police to get her to go away, and they took an hour to get here, me and my daughter were sat in her room with the dors shut but could still here her shouting, begging and crying through my letter box. she spnt 3 days going cold turkey in my shed after that and i didnt even know till she admitted it a month later :/

for all our sakes i want to cut her off but im such a family girl and shes really all i have left apart from DH and DD. also, like i said, i just cant stand the thought of something happening to her and her trying to contact me but me ignoring her. it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

i never knew about al anon online meetings, defo going to look into that. thank you all so much, its so nice to just get it all out.

OP posts:
TheFlyingFishFinger · 02/05/2012 23:55

sorry about typos etc, typing on new keyboard that im not used to yet Blush

OP posts:
CravingSleep · 03/05/2012 00:03

Can't post much as need sleep but have mum that is very similar and has seriously affected my life. Rather memorably I didn't make my wedding rehearsal as I was with her trying to get her sectioned. The day after my wedding I was in proper hospital with her and pancreatitis.

It is so very very hard. I will never leave my children on theistmwm with her but when she isn't drinking this will be hard to explain. She accused me of everything under the sun last year,including being responsible for brother's ectopic pregnancy. This year she wants to meet up and hardly remembers any of it.

daffydowndilly · 03/05/2012 08:15

Detaching with love is not about losing contact, it is an emotional detachment from the alcoholic behaviour which is crazy-inducing in the alcoholic's family and friends. If you got to Al Anon, you can learn ways to keep a relationship with her but to keep yourself safe and learn how the best way to deal with situations are. Well worth going and people with similar experiences can give you support.

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