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My mother is 77 and constantly repeats the same terrible childhood stories to me and anyone that has ears! She complains about my husband but praises him in his face. She tells lies about him to my family. She constantly criticize how I handle my husband and grandson that lives with us, my hobbies...crafting and photography, and even how I handle my dog!! Tells me what I should do in situations in my life and what I should say. She tells me lies about what my husband has done or things my grandson does....his behavior. She criticizes me on how I keep my house, says I keep too many things. She lives in what is actually a pool shower room that she's turned into her living space. It's tiny and has a parrot I got for her to keep her company. She babysits my 1 1/2 yr old black lab. She tells my She has no manners and I am wrong for letting her on my furniture. Critiques the way I will tell my dog no or to get down. I'm 54and have been in therapy since my 20's because of her. If I'm happy she will act depressed and if I'm down about about something she seems chipper and happier. I've lost weight and tells me I look terrible from the shoulders up...I'm too skinny and my eyes or sunk in. I can be around her for 5 minutes and I feel exhausted and have a pounding headache. She talks LOUD and non-stop! She rarely lets anyone speak and if she does she tell a story that she had the same thing happen to her. She acts like she has the answer to the worls problems, and like she's big and bad. She doesn't like to be around anyone she doesn't know. On holidays when my step daughter comes over with her boyfriend my mom will give some excuse why she has to go back to her place because of a headache or sick. She doesn't like to drive so she stays in her place all day. Her hygiene has really declined! There's only enough room for a twin bed where my mom lives..she has no other furniture like a chair or recliner. She watches TV all day and will nap and be up in the middle of the night. She only has a microwave and coffee maker so her diet is poor. She won't come in the house when my husband or grandson are home and if she does it's in the kitchen for a few minutes. The weather is getting hot but won't turn her AC on because it's expensive to run. She says she takes a shower about every 2 weeks because she says she doesn't do anything to get dirty. She has really long hair and washes it even less. I walk into her place and it's stuffy and stinks. It's embarrassing when my step daughter comes over and right off the bat she'll talk to her but she will tell some terrible thing about her childhood. So my step daughter tries to avoid her. My grandson is biracial and talks about him growing up to be a thug. I've caught her making mean faces at him when she thinks I'm not looking but will talk about him making terrible faces at her. My gson almost gets hysterical if he thinks she's going to babysit him! My husband is a champ dealing with her, even after he's heard her on the phone with someone telling lies about him. I try to.change the subject when she starts telling me untruth or stories but rarely helps. I've been around her and don't get to say much because I know she'll have something negative about it. She is always talking and acting rude. She says she's 77 and can say whatever she wants because she's 77. I'm just tired of dealing with her. My brother can handle her from a distance but would never want her to live on his property. She'll have to call the bank or some business over something and before she calls she goes into this story about what she's going to tell them if they say this or that. It's like she's telling me about something happens or how it's going to turn out before she calls. I'm tired of all this! Physically, mentally and emotionally. She will say someone needs to go to counseling but doesn't think she needs to because she went into a psych hospital over 40 yrs ago and watches Dr Phil. Any suggestions? Please!

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Cut her off. If you want to torture yourself, that's your choice, but you should NOT be subjecting your husband, stepdaughter, and especially your grandson to her. You do not need to have any contact with her, so why are you choosing to? You can pay someone else to watch your dog with the money you can save on the therapy, which doesn't seem to have done you any good, if you're still spending time with her and her toxicity. You deserve so much better in life than this.
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Reply to MG8522
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Oh my!!! You say you've been in therapy for over 30 years because of her and yet you allowed her to move on your property and continue to use and abuse you and your family.
Obviously you're therapy isn't working, so I'd either quit or find someone new that's going to be brutally honest with you and one that you're actually going to listen to.
And then you need to kick your mother out of her/your pool house ASAP, or as suggested sell your home and don't tell mom where you're going.
She's obviously showing signs of some mental decline/dementia with not bathing or washing her hair and that will only continue to get worse over time, so now is the time to get her out.
You will NEVER be whole and mentally well until your mother is out of your home and out of your life. And that's the truth.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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Move 1000 miles away and leave no forwarding address. Oh, be sure to change your phone numbers too.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Beethoven13 10 hours ago
Yes, 1000 miles away. Just go. I regret ever moving back from 1000 miles away to get involved first hand with my elderly parents care. I could have handled it long distance. It would have been lots of trouble but better off for me. My father was the more emotionally available, caring enabling parent. My mother is a covert narcissist who raged. She’s now 92 and still manipulates anyone who will listen. The silver lining, I thought I understood but I have learned so much being nearby. Distance doesn’t really solve the problem. Getting your parents out of you is the issue. Finding your peace. I’ve lost friends, gained a few new ones and really started to know and trust myself for the first time ever. I’m 62. It’s a hard road but I hope I have time ahead for course corrections.
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This sounds like torture. Why do you continue to live this way? Someone has to move! Either you sell and move, leaving her to find a new place of her own, or you tell her she has to go somewhere else, evicting her if necessary. This isn’t healthy for anyone in your family, no one deserves verbal abuse, no matter the cause. Stop giving her any audience for it at all. Don’t stick around to listen to another minute of it. And find another dog sitter. But mostly change the living arrangements ASAP
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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Oh, Morgan, why are you doing this to yourself?

You have had a lifetime of abuse or ill-treatment from your mother, yet, it seems you've allowed her to now live with you. Did you think her behavior would change? And why on earth would you ever let her babysit your precious grandson, or even your dog for that matter?
Yes, she sounds like a terribly rude and insensitive person. I don't think you need advice as to how not to become angry or mentally drained. You need encouragement to change this living situation - As Soon As Possible!

There is absolutely NO Reason for your mother to live with you and your poor family. There is no reason to subject your family to this cruelty. Especially not the young grandson, who does not know how to deal with this. You can't even deal with it - after 54 years!

Get her moved out of your house.

If she is capable of living independently, help her find a senior affordable housing apartment. If she is not able to live independently, find an Assisted Living or Memory Care community for her.

Stop being a victim and complaining about what she is doing to your life, and change it. You've put up with this far too long already!
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Reply to CaringWifeAZ
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This is unsustainable. Your grandson should not be subjected to racism and and mean faces and racist remarks from his own family. You are doing him a great harm by exposing him to her.


How did she end up living with you in the first place??? Time for mom to get a place of her own or, and not to be mean but I'm being serious, take another trip to a psych hospital because she needs more help mentally than you can provide. This is really not the kind of abuse and you can ignore forever and live in such a toxic environment.


Noting I sound harsh because I had a particularly rough morning with my dad who is also a huge downer and nothing is ever good enough and I get to hear the stories of what he's gonna say if he has to deal with someone and the "pre fighting" he's gonna get into so this struck a nerve!!! Could never live with him..
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Reply to casole
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She's a brat. Assuming she has no money get her on the wait list for low income housing and get her out of there. If she has money get her out even faster.

The first mean thing she said to one of my kids would be the last thing she got to say to anyone in my home. In fact I went though that and had to protect my kids from my own mom and her crap behavior. If someone hasn't learned how to behave by the time they're elderly they never will. Get her out.
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Reply to Slartibartfast
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This is a caregiver's support forum so... are you providing care for her? Does she have dementia? Is anyone her PoA?

More information would be helpful.
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Reply to Geaton777
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I stopped reading after your second paragraph. Your mother is a covert narcissist and emotionally immature and you are caught up in family enmeshment drama. She likely has some history of family abuse and emotional neglect at least and none of this is your responsibility. She will probably never look inside herself to heal and face the painful truths and always continue to grab on whoever can make her feel good and loved in the moment. You can search all these topics on YouTube and get lots of information. Get her out of your house and out of your responsibility while she can still take care of herself. Don’t sign anything that ties her to you, like a lease or power of attorney or care contract with a nursing home or agency. Pretend like you don’t exist, how would she survive if you lived 2000 miles away? Like your brother. Go live 2000 miles away, whatever it takes. 100 percent she has a trauma history and abandonment fears and has dumped all the responsibility for her feeling reassured and safe by an external source, You. Move away, get counseling about boundaries and just let her fail and struggle, and be emotional and histrionic and miserable. Let family and friends and neighbors provide haphazard support and call you with emergencies why can’t you help more pleas but no real understanding until they back away. It’s not going to be easier for you when she’s 87 or 97. She’s an adult who never grew up and probably had extremely neglectful parents who also probably had the same. Break the chain. Raise your kids to be responsible adults and let them go and expect nothing. Make your own life and choose what you want. Or, don’t have children, that’s fine too. Get away from this generational abuse. You are more than the role they want you to play.
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Reply to Beethoven13
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