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16 votes
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Twins get some 'mystifying' results when they put five DNA ancestry kits to the test
7 votes -
Father-daughter relationships strengthened with these three connectors
5 votes -
Looking for advice on mother's deteriorating mental health
Hey, I dunno if this is an appropriate place for this, and feel free to take it down if it's too direct/off-topic or what have you. I can't post this on reddit because my mom browses reddit and it...
Hey, I dunno if this is an appropriate place for this, and feel free to take it down if it's too direct/off-topic or what have you. I can't post this on reddit because my mom browses reddit and it would be painfully obvious.
So, as some of you may know, Backpage was a website like craigslist that got shut down completely due to complaints/reports of trafficking. In that shutdown, many people lost their jobs, my mother being one of them. My mom received a severance pay, and had to find work. Within that same timeframe, she also broke things off with a man whom she had been dating prior for reasons I still don't know. After having to sell her house, she tried to make it on her own, but then inevitably had to come and live with me and my Dad (Whom she had divorced about 10 years prior)). At some point a year or so ago, she had a nasty fall and hit her head, concussing her. Lately, she seems to be coming unhinged.
Her behavior started with her continually retroactively accusing my father of cheating on her ~15 years ago on several occasions based off of information she swears happened but cannot corroborate. She has, in recent memory, been known to make false claims and, when presented with proof refuting her claims, to discard said proof and continue to push her claims instead. She has tried to get me to "remember" incidents over 10 years ago where she ran across "women who were his type". On top of that, she has accused my father of going into businesses she has applied for and telling them not to hire her. My dad wants nothing more than for her to get back up on her feet and get going. I have no idea why she would believe this.
We had another incident where my little sister went downstairs to get something to eat, and used the microwave to prepare it. My mother interjected and told Ali that she shouldn't be using the microwave because she's afraid of the radiation it gives off. My little sister politely told her that that was bullshit and that she isn't worried. My mother then grew angry, told her something along the lines of "Fine, I'm not going to care if you die then", took her phone, and sent her upstairs (We all shave our rooms upstairs and she has her space downstairs, where the guest room is). This isn't the first time she's posited a completely ridiculous and baseless claim/conspiracy/concern, however I hadn't tried to refute it before.
I texted my Aunt and debriefed her, and she said that she was aware of my mother's mental health declining, and she wanted to help, but I guess she said something my mom didn't like, because my mom has since blocked her on her phone, severing the only means of communication between them (She's 2 states away). My mom seems to keep doing this to people; saying and believing untrue/ridiculous things and becoming increasingly angry and hateful when she is refuted or called out on it. She has severed ties with her Aunt, the sister of my deceased grandmother, who tried to tell her she was wrong after accusing my grandmother of various things she didn't do. She doesn't have any family left that she hasn't pissed off.
The only person left in my house who she isn't angry at is me, but I am supremely bad at handling these things and would much rather retreat into my room and not come out until it's all over. My girlfriend living with me is trying to provide support as well. This morning, my mother asked me to drop her off at a homeless shelter. She has a bed, food, clothes, a shower and restroom, and WiFi here, but she feels so much that my father is the root of all of her problems that she wants to leave at any cost.
I don't know what to do now that my mother is slowly and surely losing her goddamn mind and is driving out everyone who loves her when they don't reaffirm her insane delusions and accusations. It hurts to see my father struggling to do something, because he can't just kick out the mother of his children; he still loves the woman he married. We can't tell her she needs to seek help, because that is interpreted as an insult and calling her crazy. I've tried, again and again, to tell her that we are all here to help her and we want the best for her but she seems to discard every good thing I say and pick out the worst, even if I didn't intend any kind of negativity. She's getting to the point where she's beginning to lose her temper with me and I'm afraid that that will be the final nail in the coffin. My father tried calling some place (I believe they specialized in mentally unwell people) and asking for advice, but when he asked them to call my mother and they agreed, my mother got angry at them and accused them of "collecting evidence" for my father. It's out of their hands if she isn't harming herself or others.
I don't really know what I expect from posting this. Maybe commiseration, maybe sympathy, or advice, but I'm going fucking insane and do not have any prior experience to help me cope with/fix this and I would really appreciate if anybody does and they're willing to share
21 votes -
Ten "other" conversation topics for Thanksgiving dinner
4 votes -
How to handle difficult conversations at Thanksgiving
8 votes -
A toy monkey that escaped Nazi Germany and reunited a family
6 votes -
The invisible experiences of first-time Gen-X mothers
4 votes -
Family matters: Why a 27-year-old Canadian woman chose to be single and pregnant
5 votes -
My grandfather thought he solved a cosmic mystery
8 votes -
What's the worst person you've ever had to deal with for an extended period of time?
Mine would definitely have to be my sister in law, who I live with. I daily wake up to headaches from her yelling, once a week she threatens to leave with my brothers children for irrational...
Mine would definitely have to be my sister in law, who I live with. I daily wake up to headaches from her yelling, once a week she threatens to leave with my brothers children for irrational reasons, and she claims to be a "prisoner in the house" when she can literally leave at any time and nobody will care.
Example: Today I asked my brothers if they wanted me to fire up my hookah. She came out yelling about smoking weed around her kids and then left out front to vent to someone loudly on the phone for half an hour. There was no weed, the hookah was in a different room, and they smoke cigarettes around their kid all the time.
12 votes -
Why parenting is both the toughest and most rewarding gig
7 votes -
What I’ve learnt about parenting a queer teen
9 votes -
Why aren't most women represented in the last names of their children?
14 votes -
Separated refugee families launch legal action against Australian government at UN
7 votes -
When a DNA test reveals your daughter is not your biological child
11 votes -
How well-intentioned White families can perpetuate racism
20 votes -
Japan’s rent-a-family industry
16 votes -
Why is IVF so popular in Denmark?
6 votes -
The memoir by Steve Jobs' daughter makes clear he was a truly rotten person whose bad behavior was repeatedly enabled by those around him
17 votes -
Three's a crowd: Millennials are shifting Australia's family values
12 votes -
How the shared family computer protected us from our worst selves
11 votes -
The age that women have babies: How a gap divides America
10 votes -
What do 90-somethings regret most?
7 votes -
Letters to the editor in response to "Motherhood in the Age of Fear"
7 votes -
How a notorious gangster was exposed by his own sister
7 votes -
Motherhood in the age of fear
11 votes -
Four parents, two gaybies, one very modern family
3 votes -
Choosing to not have children
I hesitate to even use the term "childfree" for this post, as the reputation the community has gathered on reddit isn't the greatest. For good reason tbh - there's a reason I don't post on that...
I hesitate to even use the term "childfree" for this post, as the reputation the community has gathered on reddit isn't the greatest. For good reason tbh - there's a reason I don't post on that sub.
I knew from a very young age that I wasn't cut out for kids. I didn't want to play "house", hated baby dolls (especially the gross ones that "peed" so you could change the diaper), babysitting was done only under duress, and the noise that came from being around a crowd of kids made me crazy. I grew up with dozens of cousins, of which I was one of the oldest girls, so "taking care of the young ones" was kind of an expectation. But while the other cousins in my age range were happy to do so, I was off in a corner with a book, avoiding the entire thing.
As I got older and started dating, the conversations about weddings and having kids were the last thing on my mind. I went off to university, got a job, moved out on my own, and just didn't really think twice about it to be honest. I guess I always assumed it'd happen one day, and the urge to settle down would kick in, but it never did.
Now as I'm past the ever so major gate of 30 (that crucial age where everyone says you'll change your mind), nothing's changed. I have a large circle of friends who feel the same way (none of us have or want children) and we're enjoying our lives in a way I didn't think was possible. We enjoy our dinners with each other, traveling on weekends to spontaneous destinations, last minute concerts, festivals, and many other events that keep us busy and engaged. The thought of giving it up and settling down just doesn't hold any appeal.
The accusations of selfishness, shallowness, leading an unfulfilled life are all just water off a duck's back. If I'm selfish, it hurts no one but myself. If I'm shallow, well, I'm not shallow so that's not an issue. My life is my own, and it's exactly how I want it - full of friends, spontaneity, and peace and quiet when I want it.
41 votes -
Motherhood brings the most dramatic brain changes of a woman's life. So why does prenatal care ignore the topic altogether?
17 votes -
What milestone did your children hit that you weren't ready for?
I'm a father of two girls, ages are 6 and 4. Miss 6 has had a wobbly tooth for a few weeks now (the way she has harped on it felt like years) now last week it came out. Being that it was loose for...
I'm a father of two girls, ages are 6 and 4. Miss 6 has had a wobbly tooth for a few weeks now (the way she has harped on it felt like years) now last week it came out. Being that it was loose for so long I thought I had come to terms with that, I hadn't. It's odd but it shook me harder than I would have expected.
What milestone has your little one hit that you weren't ready for? prepare this foolish dad for more things to come!
15 votes -
Let’s all stop shaming moms for showing emotion
5 votes -
Japan’s vegetable-eating men - A nation of suit-wearing salarymen educates its first generation of stay-at-home dads
7 votes -
Two weeks after “ending” US family separation, parents still can’t contact their children
7 votes -
The Zero Meter Diving Team - A story of family, loss, and the Chernobyl disaster
6 votes -
Happy 4th to those in the states, family huh 🥃
Just got in a huge argument with my aunts and uncles who are engineers (I am as well) who don't believe climate change is real. Or as my chemical engineering aunt and my emissions engineering aunt...
Just got in a huge argument with my aunts and uncles who are engineers (I am as well) who don't believe climate change is real. Or as my chemical engineering aunt and my emissions engineering aunt put it "I don't believe carbon dioxide is a pollutant"
What are your guys family gathering stories?
13 votes -
Toowoomba woman wins court bid to use her dead boyfriend's sperm to have a baby
8 votes -
Listen to children who’ve just been separated from their parents at the border
13 votes -
The divorce surge is over, but the myth lives on
23 votes -
Dad bias: Why are fathers disproportionately praised for parenting their kids?
12 votes -
The age of grandparents is made of many tragedies
5 votes -
In 2017 names, Donald, Alexa, and Mary plummet; Malia booms
5 votes