She has dominated her childrens' lives with little concern for anyones' feeling but her own. She is now in a wonderful assisted living and her dementia (I think) has illuminated her personality into a person who I can no longer bear to be around. She has again managed to alienate everyone around her with her insults and insensitivity. She is nasty and uncooperative with the aids (who are wonderful) And complains, complains, complains about everyone, everything and blames my sister and myself for the air she breathes. I am sick of her and I don't want to visit her anymore and don't feel that my adult children need to be manipulated like I was and be around her negative attitude anymore. I hate feeling obligated to have her at my house as I have every holiday of our lives and force my children to "tolerate" her for my sake. The guilt is unbearable but I feel that now being 60 years old I would like to feel that this person does not dominate my whole life. I would like to have a happy holiday for a change and have my children WANT to come home (without Grandma always there)
There has never been any pleasing her before and now she sends me into bouts of depression that I have a hard time shaking. Am I alone? I feel like a selfish person but I don't like her now and never did before. The guilt is killing me.
i’m sending hugs to all of us, suffering, worrying, abused, tortured...
...there are mean people.
...there are incredible, uplifting, encouraging people! :)
i wish us courage in the various difficulties we face.
it would be nice if somehow, by chance, people’s bad/mean treatment of us, by some twist in fate, catapults our lives into an amazing direction.
hugs!!!! to life!
bundle of joy :)
Must have a code that you can live by
And so, become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye
Teach your children well
Their father's hell did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by
Don't you ever ask them, "Why?"
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you
And you (Can you hear?) of tender years (And do you care?)
Can't know the fears (And can you see?)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so, please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)
And teach your parents well
Their children's hell will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by
Don't you ever ask them, "Why?
If they told you, you will cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.
There is only one way to handle someone with BPD. You need boundaries with concrete consequences for when they are broken not to change her but to protect you and your daughters. So, she's a young 64. Let her tend for herself. I'm 64 and my wife is 66, but we don't need anyone looking out or checking up on us. Want to be a good example for your daughters in dealing with an abusive person, get a therapist and ask for help in establishing boundaries with a mother whom you think has BPD. Know this, you did not make her this way; you can't fix her, and you can't change her. The best thing to do is to put yourself and your daughters on a healthy path and stay focused on those boundaries in place no matter what your BPD mom does.
I am 59 my mother is 83 and she has tried and succeeded to dominate me and my siblings all our lives. Whete to go from here 🤷♀️🤷♀️
i am just writing this to you , to encourage you to have Christmas with your kids every year without her now from this day forward , and see her Boxing Day , it’s the consequences of her behaviour and a real mum would not want to do this to her daughter in the first place , only a toxic , me me me , would want to do this to her daughter and grandchildren , your overseeing her care and you deserve a medal for that , My mother slammed her door in my face Xmas just past , I called in on my way through Xmas morning to my Xmas plans I had planned 3 months earlier , my sister had planned lunch with mum 3 months earlier , but her kids said NO , nothing to do with me , I was invited out for lunch at friends I hadn’t seen for years as my kids and I do alternate years due to divorce , I was just dropping in to see my mum on my way through as a Xmas courtesy morning visit , and because I wouldn’t change my plans or take her with me , and my sister had cancelled her invitation for Xmas at short notice at her kids request , I got the door slammed in my face when I was leaving and a tantrum 🤷♂️ Quite ridiculous and rude and abusive behaviour she did that to keep because I was happy and her intention was to derail me , this is what they do , they suck the soul out of people , stop 🛑 letting your mother rule your life , she is too old to have that control over you , your doing the right thing , it’s time for you and your kids to have your own Xmas 40 years ago , I think you will be feeling guilt no matter what you do , that’s what narcissists do they trigger horrible emotions in every one , I have had so much therapy my mother can’t shake me , to answer your question NO your not horrible, your mother is , and you shouldn’t feel guilty she is in good hands and you and your kids deserve a nice Xmas without your not very nice mother ruining it and you can see her Boxing Day and she can suck the Xmas spirit out of someone else it really won’t matter to her whose Xmas she ruins and she can make you feel guilty on Boxing Day so all good , my mother is just upset my sister has chosen her kids over her , as she had plans for my sister to be her old age beck and call girl and My sister has now stood up to her , now my mother is lining me up , And said some very unkind things about my sister tonight , I said why mum because she needed a Xmas with just her and her kids this year to connect after a bad year , I have Certs in aged care and will make sure everything is ok but I won’t be engaging In her toxicity , set boundaries and self care , and feel guilty Boxing Day , you may actually feel empowered
My mum used to say that her ambition was to live to 100 and I thought, oh God, I hope she doesn't - because I don't think I could have put up with any more of her antics. In the event, cancer claimed her life at 78.
She had cut ties with myself and my Dad a couple of years before diagnosis. One day my father rang me up and said that she wanted to talk to me. I said I couldn't imagine why and he said she had cancer.
Well that's different, I thought - although I was also aware that she would be unlikely to have had a personality transplant in the interim. Against my better judgement, I phoned her up and we were having a perfectly civilized conversation. I told her I was more settled with my work and living arrangements at that point, and that I was sorry about her cancer. I was in mid-sentence, when she put the phone down on me out of nowhere.
I spoke with my dad on the phone the next week and he asked me if I had spoken to my mother. I said yes, I had, but that she had put the phone down on me. My father was in disbelief, and said "oh she didn't!" and I said, I can assure you she did. He said, why would she want to do a thing like that, and at such a time? and I said, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST WHAT SHE'S LIKE.
I'm now having to take my relatives to court over her will, as I'm an only child and was left nothing. However, whatever that does or doesn't bring, it's a million times easier than dealing with her. Her pitting me against them, in a sense, is just another way of putting the boot into me and being remembered after her death. Because she couldn't bear anything to not be all about her.
She ruined her own marriage, did her best to ruin mine, all because of her own intrinsic unhappiness with herself, and what she had managed, or not managed, to achieve in life. I could go on, but my rant would last for hours, and much has already been said on this thread.
She is so mean and difficult that she was told they no longer needed where she has worked part-time for the last 15 yrs (she is 78).
My sister and I now have a terrible dilemma. Mom is being verbally abusive to our 80 yr old Dad. He has some memory issues and other health issues that he will not let keep him down. My sis called him today to say she would be down to shovel the heavy snow off the deck. He told my sister he would do it. That set mom off and she was literally screaming at my Dad terrible things like she hope he died and then my sister and I could deal with them. And she wouldn’t go to the funeral and on and on.
My sister went down to their home and took care of the snow. She knocked on the door to return a dish - Mom opened the door, snatched the dish and slammed the door in my sister’s face without a word.
I live in another state and feel so helpless. We don’t want Dad living with
such nastiness. He will not leave the house to stay elsewhere. He told my sister that mom is like this 75% of the time.
How can we help our Dad? I go home when I can but can’t spend more than 24 hrs with my Mom. And, I can’t let my sister deal with this alone.
Whatever I say has always been wrong or stupid. In fact most people are stupid in her mind . Everybody lies and she loves to run people into the ground which I can not put up with. Visiting her is mostly a nightmare. She has her last sister in tears a lot of the time.
I am also 60 . Everything you said I can relate too. Best of luck my friend.
I'm telling you this because I think you may have a similar relationship with your mom. If it were me I would stop having her over for holidays. I would have a nice dinner just for her alone so no one has to suffer because of her behavior. She's not going to be happy either way so you and your family may enjoy your time together.
imagine a life without abusive people around you.
imagine how nice.
lots of time, energy, for you to focus on the right things.
go for life!
for a life without abusive people around you.
i’m not sure these abusive people love us. i think it might not be love. maybe it was convenient sometimes to be nice to us.
hugs and courage!
find freedom. a life without abuse.