Should I move out of my mom's place?

Can you get some home care help to work with you... An aid to bath Mom and a nurse to help with medications. Maybe even think about respite care. This would involve someone who will come spend time with Mom, and give you the opportunity to get out and do some things for yourself. Many home care agencies have folks who will do that or will reccommend someone for you. I would strongly consider getting some help. take care, J

You didn't mention your age, or if u had a spouse or children of your own. Stress is a big thing and I agree with Jaye about help in the home and respite care. You need some time for yourself and to be with friends. You will be surprised how your depression and attitude changes after being with friends for a while. As caring and loving u sound about your mom I'm afraid u would carry guilt with u if u moved out. So my advice to u would be to get some help and time alone first and if that doesn't make a big change in your attitude then rethink the situation and go from there. Dane

Dear September21,
You do not mention what aspects of your mom's aging is causing you stress. If it is her health or the realization that it is not safe for her to be alone for any time, then getting outside help will definitely alleviate that stress. However, if your mom is aging well but this is forcing you to face your own future, then you need to confront your fears and stress head on. Watching your mom handle the joy and sadness of her golden years will provide you with the fortitude and courage to face your own golden years. This is both natural and rare in our present culture. We want to believe we are going to be eternally youthful. Moving out will not only deprive you of a great opportunity, but it will set you up for a very tarnished golden sunset.

September21, as ezcare wrote, you did not mention what aspects of your mother's aging are causing you stress. Could you explain more to this agingcare.com community of caregivers? I look forward to a further explanation from you as I think it would help some of us to offer suggestions. How long have you lived with your mom? Does SHE need you to live with her or have YOU needed to live with her? Do you have siblings to whom you can talk? Do you feel that you "owe" your mom? These are just a FEW of the questions I have. Please tell all of us more so we can try to help.

I have lived with my mom all of my life and have enjoyed every moment of being here. I am not sure why I am difficulty with her aging. I feel it is a fear of her loss eventually. I am not sure how to handle this. I have never moved out nor made a life of my own. I have no husband or children so she is my whole life. My mom is healthy and able to care for herself - I think it is just my sadness when she is no longer here. I know that if I left I would feel sad and depressed and miss her. I am so torn. I do get out with friends but when I return home the anxiety comes back. Please help me to understand what I need to do. Thank You

If it is possible for youm to get counseling it would probably help or a caregivers support group would be great so you can see our feelings are real and important and if you are lucky you will meet someone on your wave length and gain a good friend for life. Also maybe you could find someplace to voleenter so you can look forward to going someplace where you are helping others many places need help

I think you need to find a good Caregiver Program in your community. This would be a program to help YOU manage all that is happening with you mom. There are many of them that are actually free.

I am glad to hear that you get out with friends, september21, but if your mother is "your whole life" as you say, I would suggest that before your mother (or YOU) get any older you need to have more things "going on" in your life or you will be totally lost when your mother has passed on. I presume you work outside the home but do you have time to do some volunteer work? Choose a volunteer job that is connected to one of your deep interests: for instance, if you care about animals, volunteer at an animal shelter. In such a way you will meet people who share a similar interest with you. Or join a club -gardening, photography, outdoor, music or whatever where you would meet people who would share similar interests with you. You need to prepare NOW for the time in your life when you will no longer have your mother as a companion. It appears to me that you are dreading that time so I would like to suggest that the best way to deal with this fear/concern is head-on. I think you sense this and that is why you wrote in for suggestions. Good for you. You CAN deal with this fear/dread and if you need help from professionals to do so, go for it. Best of luck.

I am unemployed at this time so much of my focus is on her when I am home. I did get away for a few days and felt better so I need to find a job or get involved with something that I love. I feel that it is too late to separate from her emotionally which is what a counselor told me but I will do my best and I appreciate all of your replies. It is true that my Mom has been my whole life even though I do have friends and relatives that truly care about me. I think a lot of my distress is just thinking about life without her. Thanks to you all

Why have you never moved out and been in your own environment? I'd be depressed too if I had lived for X amount of years as an adult w/my parent and never felt the satisfaction of being on my own.