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Hi @utopia - a teenager being selfish and not doing what he's told? No that can't be right. It's a shame you couldn't have had some sort of gradual moving him back in... like one day a week, then two etc. I think he belongs at home with you and he needs to contribute and be more supportive. Lucky he had your mum to go to... he probably should have been more grateful but that's not how the teenager brain works. I should know - I was a teenage boy once and it probably hasn't crossed his mind that he should be at home being a help to you. Hopefully your mum isn't like my daughters' grandmother with a non-stop netflix and junk food marathon while sprawled on the couch. They love going over there... total lack of discipline. Maybe he needs a good talking to by a neutral person? It's difficult with you not being well. I remember being sent off to relatives when my mum went off the rails and being resentful - I was a lot younger than your son but it was never explained to me at the time and maybe things would have better if it had been. I would just have an uncle or whoever show up at school to collect me and nothing was said. It is difficult to reason at his age though - he'll probably have that light-bulb moment eventually and be less self-centred but who knows when that will happen... only time will tell. Thanks for asking after me - not much happening in my life. Been looking at courses for next year and have been to a few information sessions. Really need to find something that will lead to a job at the end of it. I got enough of a payout to keep me going for a while but I'll need to get a job eventually. Certainly keeping myself busy now though - lots of work in the garden and getting some life administration done which had been neglected while my head was snowed under with lawyers and VCAT hearings and crap... glad that's all over now.

That's great to hear @utopia much needed too by the sounds of it.

Horray for feeling refreshed after a good night sleep 🙂

Hi @utopia - wow 12 hours that's an epic sleep, you must feel good after that. You can never underestimate the benefits of a good sleep. I restrict myself to seven hours just so I always maintain a schedule. Wake up - let dogs out, feed dogs, feed cat. Wake kids, feed kids, take kids to school... lazy gits should take the tram. I'm looking at a few courses - I'm really focused on finding something with job prospects though. I've spoken to a few advisors and as soon as I mention job placement I get hit with silence. I've got enough money to last a while but I really need to get a job for my own self-esteem and my savings won't last forever. Plus I'm getting the snide disrespectful comments from my daughters "well you don't even have a job"... probably getting that from their mother. Yeah teenagers - always the confidence-boosting, positive comments to make your day just that little bit more awesome So if I do anything it will probably be a Cert IV as I don't think I can be out of work for a year to do a diploma. I always liked working in hospitals and clinical environments despite the management bullies so I'm looking at mental health, drug & alcohol counselling etc. I don't want to go back to what I was doing but if money gets tight I might have to.

Hi @utopia - yes you have to love the teenage mentality... call you all manner of names then five minutes later - "I need you to drive me to blah blah's house". I've explained to them how I had to leave my job as it was an unhealthy environment and how I had to go to court to get money out of them without going into detail about how I was treated and used as a scapegoat once they knew I had a MI. That's the thing about bullying and discrimination - it's people using power against you when you are vulnerable. I would hate for anyone else to got through that but it happens to so many who have to stay cause they need the money. For that reason I really think I need to give back and help people in that situation. It's difficult getting my teenagers to accept that staying in that workplace was not an option and having one of them say "why didn't you just suck it up" is hurtful and not helpful. I didn't realise how much damage had been done until I was out of the place and how I need time to get my head back in a good place, I'm sure you're the same - you don't just get up and walk into another job. It's not that easy.