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Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Things are coming to a head with my family. My mum has always suffered Anxiety / Depression / Severe Mood Swings (?Sz/Bipolar - secretive). Now what she fears has come upon her - terminal cancer on top. Shws not coping, and also dads carer (mobility issues and dementia stage 2). Mum has passed her 2yr medical prognosis date with terminal cancer and fought hard to hold independence.

Her MI is sooooooo difficult to work with. Sooo ambivolent about everything, anxious, can't make decisions, argumentative, suspicious, shuts down, cries, abuses, withdraws... Sucks trying to help. Dads care is failing too, she resents all the in home help I've activated with him this last few years I'm seen as the enemy for doing that, even though she can't. Last week dad actually asked me to come help "looks like mums having to go into hospital"

They never ask

Then I get this tx from mum this morning. "Feel crook k#####(me) hows your flu today if you can come down what form of travel you choose and how can you look after the birds they are a concern dont feel good today at all but the day is young yet might pick up"

I have respected mums fierce need for privacy but today I rang palliative care to see what's happening for her? They got her mix d up with another 'same name' patient. Then turns out mum has never beenbreferred to Community Palliative Care (which is why they didn't know her), but had her last Admission Notes referring her to Palliative Care Dr, she's been doing those visits but talks about dad not herself. Next visit ?12th.

Mum has lost 25% body weight, is weak. After talking with her and x3 nurses today (like hours), clarifying wrong contact details and complex family matters, I feel shell shot!

Honestly thought these things were in hand.

I'm gonna have to go down, but OK his time begrudgingly. I live 12hrs away, I have a sister & 3 bothers within 5 - 1hr away. They can't handle mums MI - she has legal rights++ but don't know what she's doing now dad can't take charge.

The palliative care cimmunity nurse can't act without that referral from the hospital Dr, so shell look at that and then ring mum... All maybies of cause. My heads swimming with it all, any wonder mum just throws her hands in the air saying "they don't care, I'm too old, they just want me to die"... "And you lot are selfish and just want to put me inva nursing home and forget about me, and you all care about dad more than me..." Then she crack a joke about something totally related, say "don't wanna talk anymore..."

OMG!!! my cPTSD & cGrief trigger alerts are all firing. Feel resentful. Want to go to bed 'till it goes away.

My son even said to me this morning "mum you know people have totally cut off parents for doing far less than they have done to you!" Suggesting I abandon them. How can I do that and stand before God (and myself) in peace? This is so hard!

Help!

232 replies

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In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Hugs @Former-Member ..... 💜💐💕

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

@Former-Member ...

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

@Former-Member
Thinking especially of you at this time.

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Thanks @Former-Member & @Faith-and-Hope, guess its hard to know what to say. Got this from my mum first thing this morning "not to worry you, did a wonderfull job taking my place looking after ...#... [my dad] grand job thank you x" I don't know. I have this fear, with all my memory gaps of my childhood, that something more happened there, my gut thinks so, or is it just mum's projection of her own experience onto me?

This is triggering me

Better go hide back on the LE side

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

It's the "swing" @Former-Member ...... if you can, just accept the compliment, at arms length ...... keep your shield up cos she will swing back again to being critical and defensive. You know that ..... but tuck the compliment away somewhere special anyway. It's like looking in the shop window at something you can't buy that seems to be right there ..... I know, I have this with my mil ......

In response to: Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Bro4 stopped talking to me for a couple weeks (mum doesn't likevit or something), but this week he's not coping well and wants mecto come back down because mum keeps calling him over sometimes x4 a day and "treats him like crap" and he's "had enough".

Mum leans heaviest on my two youngest Bros3&4 (pays them), they both have Sz, drug dependence (pot), and perpetually broke. Paranoid delusions, angry and cry a lot. They get played easy. Mum has a habit of turning her children against eachother, like a true narcissist, making them compete for her or something. I'm too close to be objective. The two brothers are in conflict again. Makes it hard in an already extremely difficult situation.

Mum has asked me to come down (she never asks) but only for x4 days she says, because if the 'tension' having someone else in the house. I can't afford to travel 1200km back & forth. Might further explore the offers of cousins yo let me sleep their places to break up the week. I don't know. Really wanna just get my son & I through Christmas OK & Jan without any dramas. I barely hold together at this time myself, I don't know...

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

💐💜💕 @Former-Member ....

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

@Former-Member ...

In response to: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

You probably think I'm hopeless and should get my ass down there... I wish I could, honest!

Rang mum this morning to see what this hospital pickup yesterday was, we got interrupted x3 times, by her mobile, dad, visitor - each time she expects me to wait and likes that I'm listening in she says but I find it most off putting.

Anyway, turns out the ER Dr differed to the visiting Comm RN re as cities buildup &.he sent mum home & she has apt with outpatients Next week. She sounded chirpy and coherant and was laughing in the background with the visitor. Tried to talk with dad but he forgets what he's talking about mid sentence. I tried to encourage them to crankbup the aircon, and keep fluids up re heatwave but don't think they got it.

I rang bro3, re his tx about mum yesterday, but woke him up (1130am) and gw couldn't talk long. He thinks the hospital wouldn't admit mum because of the conspiracy at gov level to destroy him & his family... plus he thinks a foreigner took priority... But then he said mum "signed herself out because she's an idiot" He's cranky with Bro4 again too. He's hot in today's heatwave but his fans are broken and he wont open the doors because "his neighbour's lazor beams trying to k#ll him get stronger..." 😞 (pSz). He couldn't talk long re "needed breakfast" so that was unhelpful, and makes me worry about him.too. But apparently his MH Case Manager did a house call this week & he is doing his antipsychotic injections regularly.

I tried to ring Bro4 but hes not answering.

I covertly rang mums Community nurse to brief on what's going on re yesterdays unnecessary ambulance / A&E trip. She was surprised the Dr sent mum home yesterday & has scheduled a home visit tomorrow and arranged to home visit mum again tomorrow and get her in to see Cancer/Palliative Care Specialist before the weekend. I was relieved. Mum has been vomiting, is weak and hurt her shoulder as well as the fluid expanding abdomen 9,000mls a month now. I'm secretly hoping someone in authority forces mum & dad into care.

I feel awful I'm not there for them for Christmas but my being there will only delay the inevitable. I want to be with my son. And the shop is desperate for staff, and my community support work have a few shifts shifts over hols and for there's my craft group...

Your silence here makes me thinkbyou think.im doing the wrong.thing not going down.

I really struggle with all this, and trying to keep myself on an even keel. I made a couple if mistakes at the shop today, just distracted... and getting headaches.

How can I not care?

Bro4 has been really angry with mums carry-on lately, and nobody could reach him today (which is unusual). I started to worry / think about his state of health with Sz, aggitation, his strange text msgz and threats to hurt a nephew - signs of rising distress levels and taking himself off his MH medication a couple of months back (he said recently), using dope, otc pain meds... But what really worries me today is yesterday's text saying he found a dr who prescribed him extra stronger prescription opiates (for his knee pain and something to help him sleep). It occurred to me this morning that he might be going into a MH crisis re underlying Sz. It has been building up and he's under lots of pressure with mum... And talks about dieing a lot... So, I chased up his MH Case Manager to visit Bro4 today (plz). I'm so impressed - jos Case Manager did find my bro4 at home, alive and had him agree to see the Dr Tues to get back on his meds - or get readmitted. Phew🙏 I was real frightened he'd accidentally OD'd on all these extra meds last night, like Heath Ledger & Michael Jackson...Its so hard monitoring them, not coming over like an idiot... And all from a distance. Nobody else is doing it. I'm gonna have to create a book for all their crisis contact & numbers etc for the two Sz brothers as well as mum and dads home nursing team, now mums not coping. Sheesh! How do I step back & let them suffer? I can't.

@Former-Member

In response to: Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

Re: Mum Severe Anxiety / Depression +++

@Former-Member .... your first priority needs to be yourself ..... then yourself and your son ..... you two are your core family. After that comes everybody else in their respectful turn, but you can’t be there for everybody. If each unwell person in your family requires one well person as their carer, there just aren’t enough of you to go around ..... that’s why you need the outside support ..... it’s reasonable and it’s good that you have it there ....

Please go easy on yourself. You are not responsible for the whole lot, and you owe it to yourself to take the best care of you that you can. Do what you reasonably can Hon .... you can hear that there is a roller coaster going on for your parents and brothers ..... sometimes they will be up ..... other times they will be down .....

Just do what you can, and don’t judge yourself over the rest. That is the point to “let go and let God ....”

💜🌻

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