Help, mom needs help - she is soooo lonely and i can't fix it....

My mom has been very depressed, just after Christmas she was saying that she just wanted to die and 'can't she just die'. I've encouraged her to get help and she did get back on her compulsive gambling medication. She's been trying to find a job or something to do, but she is so angry that ...it sometimes shows and people don't want her around. She needs to be around people though to find love and support, but can lash out and be so mean. I feel like her only lifeline and have limited time to give her - i work full time and my boyfriend likes to be with me on the weekends.

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Carol Bradley Bursack

Give a Hug

Jan 18, 2010

You can't take on this whole responsiblity. Could you get her to go to a gambling support group? This would give her support for her problem, but also friends who understand her. She may need an antidepressant, as well as whatever she take for her addiction. She needs to see a doctor, that is for sure.

Carol

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naheaton

Give a Hug

Jan 18, 2010

My sister-in-law and I took our mother-in-law to the casino Friday. We go there maybe once a month, or once every two months. It was something that my mil used to do with her husband when he was alive. Because of her macular degeneration she can't see hardly, so she sits there with her face literally 2 inches from the slot machine, trying to see! Point is, I see LOTS of old people there at those slots. They sit there hour after hour feeding that machine. I often wonder how much they are spending, glued to that machine. For mil, she spends 10 bucks if she's lucky, but then she's not there to win, she's there for the memories, and to spend time with us. And you're right, it IS a trap for seniors, but I don't think most of them suddenly started gambling when they hit 65. They have probably had that problem for quite sometime. It's just now, they are spending their social security checks to do it.
As for your mom, how about her volunteering somewhere? There is nothing better to make you think about someone OTHER than yourself, when you're helping SOMEONE else. At the local hospital here, there are senior citizen women volunteers that check people in for different operations. They answer questions, guide the patient to their rooms (day surgery) and notify the people waiting when the doctor is coming to talk to them. They sit there smiling, with their blue hair and everything, and are quite pleasant.

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