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Hello everyone. I’m new here, and I’ll try to share my story in a nutshell. I’m a 65 year old currently caring for my mother over the last 3-4 years, after caring for my stepfather for 4 years. I’m exhausted. I’m tired. I’m angry, and I’m very sad. Not depressed. Just very sad about how my situation has played out. I know there are many of you whom have had somewhat similar situations with a parent. Never ever imagining it would be like it is.
I was a child born into neglect and abuse. The oldest of 9. When I was 8, the first 6 of us were removed from our natural family and made wards of the court, and placed up for adoption. Being the oldest I was always referred to as “the ringleader” and never by my given name because I watched out for my siblings. I was invisible. I did my best to care for them. I got us to school, got us food if we had something, and kept them all as quiet as possible in order to keep us under our father’s radar.
After the county took us away, I went through 3 institutions because of limited space in the children’s village, and 7 foster homes. When I turned 12, the program director of a program I was in, and his wife took me in and adopted me. I was 13. The first 7 years with them was like a dream come true. I prayed to God. I promised I would be the best little girl, do well in school, follow the rules I was given, do my chores, make good grades, and do anything to make sure they would never regret they had adopted me, and would do anything I could to make them proud. I kept that promise to God. I worked hard to change my negative behavior, speak correctly, and speak only when spoken too. I didn’t argue, or complain. I always answered “yes sir, no sir”, or “yes ma’am, no ma’am” as directed. They weren’t harsh. But my adoptive father knew I was a little rough from going through the system. Therefore he felt the need to put down the rules, boundaries, and expectations. He was the program director of the youth program I was put into. He dealt with a LOT of kids for many years that went through the system. They had no children of their own. My mother was in school getting her masters in language arts, and ended up traveling the world doing workshops. So she was rarely home accept during summer months. My dad kept very busy running the program and dealing with the other kids. I was not allowed to have friends that where in the program. I guess he thought they were a bad influence. The years I lived in Oxford were the best years of my life. Then a very sudden change occurred right after my high school graduation. My father left his position and took a job in a different state. I was devastated. I lived my life there. I felt like a person who had a life when previously I was invisible. I had friends. We moved. My parents started fighting. My mother became an alcoholic. My father started an affair with his secretary. I watched it all happening and could do nothing. I felt I had lost another family. I came ready made. I could dress myself, bath myself, feed myself, be responsible and follow rules, and always do what I was supposed to do. They never had to worry about me. My mother was always a narcissistic person. She loved her job and people loved her. But they didn’t have to live with her. She abhorred cussing, incorrect speech, and believed it was important to present yourself a certain way. Appearances were ALWAYS important. She only showed people what she wanted them to see. So often people would tell me how lucky or fortunate I was to be taken in by such a wonderful woman when they had no idea what they were talking about. My father left us. He tried to tell me but I didn’t quite understand, although I had a clue. Still I didn’t want to believe. I TRIED to see thing her way. But I’ve always been a realist. Abuse does that. Now after so many years I am stuck caring for a woman I do not like. I don’t know who I am. I feel lost. Angry. Guilty, and trapped. I have no way out.Suffocating.

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I agree with Fawnby who correctly stated that you do have options for a solution -- you just have to be willing to accept it.

Start talking to a social worker from your county. Tell then your mental health is taking a hard hit and you would like to see about 3rd party guardianship for your Mom. A court-appointed guardian will then place your Mom and manage all her affairs, and the state will pay for all her needs.

Then consider Dave Ramsey's series on how to get out of debt. It's time tested and highly recommended.

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/debt-101?snid=topics.topics.debt
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Your story is very sad. I wish for you to find a way out. Also, to get out of debt. It's difficult to get out of debt, while one is caring for elderly LOs. I think many kind, caring daughters end up in debt.

Nothing is impossible. I wish for you to find a way to turn your life around!
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I notice the part about being in debt. Are you able to see a licensed insolvency counsellor to get a consumer proposal if the debt is not able to be paid off in a realistic time-frame? Are you able to make a plan to get away, work toward it, and leave? 65 is still a relatively young age for a senior. Please do not give in to despair. Constructive action is the best antidote to that. I am also 65, and have begun the process of stepping back from this unhealthy caregiving situation: we both deserve our retirements, and I know all too well what it means to feel stuck. You are not perma-stuck. Ask yourself if you want to do this for another 10 years. If she’s a healthy 90, she could get to 100. Do you want to continue in this role for that long? If not, please make a plan and get away.
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It has taken 18 months of therapy to help me disconnect emotionally from my mom. I am in year 6 of being her “everything”. I’m 73 ..she is 90…a healthy 90! she is now in Memory Care {2 weeks} where you must “manage her managed care”. Her AL really needed lots of managing to make sure her needs were met. I visit frequently and do all her financial, paperwork, incontinence etc needs. I also feel sad that I have had little retirement. Definitely not the retirement I had planned. I am not depressed. I have a brother who is not well and protects himself . I am the POA. Therapy and church keep me on track. I maintain good friendships..Our parents are outliving their brains. Good Luck.
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There’s always an out, but you have to be willing to take it. You’re conditioned to feel beholden to mom. You can uncondition yourself, but you have to face truths such as you’ve described to us.

I hope you can do that.
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Please do what you can to get away. You do not deserve this and it is a bad feeling to feel stuck. I know all to well about feeling sad because of the way you have been treated.
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Call your local County Area of Aging .
Ask to speak with a social worker to help you place your mother . Tell them you can no longer care for her .
You matter too .
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you NEED to find a way out..... there must be a way
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You paid your dues, take the advice of others here and put them in a facility, they have lived their life, now live yours. Go to social services and ask for help.
Best of luck.
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Oh my gosh, please live life on your terms now. You don’t owe anyone anything.

Do whatever it takes to leave. I wish you all the best. Please keep us posted on your progress.
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I hope that you make a plan and leave. At 65, you are still a relatively young-ish senior. You deserve to have a life of your own.
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Hi Bindifer - I think you need to see yourself as a strong survivor - because you really are. And the range of emotions that you're now experiencing (ie: anger, exhaustion, sadness, etc) is totally understandable and you have a right to feel it. You can use these emotions to fuel you to making changes. You said that you're sad, but not depressed - and that's great - and it shows that you'll come out of this situation - you need to believe that.

You seriously don't owe your mother anything - certainly not your time. A lot of what you described resonates with me - I'm feeling lost myself these days and I'm trying my hardest to get thru it. I think you'd feel like you're moving in the right direction by creating an exit strategy - whatever steps you can take in eventually changing your situation. It's a process, but if you can design the steps, then you can get closer to a new destination in your life. Make sure to be kind to yourself.

You seem like a strong person and I wish you all the very best for happiness to come - I'm sure you'll get there ~
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You didn't cause the aging problems and you can't fix them, but what you CAN do is allow inappropriate guilt for something you didn't do to kill you.

Please change out that "guilt" word. Guilt requires FAULT and ability but refusal to FIX. None of that is the case here. Use the more appropriate g-word, which is grief. Grief that we live too long and too unhappily. Grief that you somehow feel responsible for your parent's unhappiness when you are not. Just purely grief. The words we tell ourselves matter. They form paths and beliefs in our brains.

You are an adult and now have full responsibility for your own choices for your own life. I hope you won't throw your life on the funeral pyre of your parent. As you can see, it isn't making her happy, and it won't help make you happy either.

I am so very sorry for all you are going through.
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You’re in no way obligated to provide care for anyone you don’t choose to do. You can walk away at any time. Your guilt is misplaced and undeserved. Caring for yourself is never wrong, I hope you’ll make changes to do just that
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There's a way out of everything. Apply for Medicaid and get "mother" placed in a SNF. Immediately. You have no reason to feel guilty. For WHAT?
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