My mother is horrible. She has always been mean, mean to me and controlling when I was small, always sarcastic and manipulative. I found out later that when i was litte I always thought my father was really mean because he always said "No" to whatever it was I wanted! Well, I came to learn how she manipulated him to say "No" to me, and threatened him if he said "yes" but came to me and said stuff.."you know I would, honey, but your father said "No" I cant help it",,, She also would get mad at me and throw my dollies and stuffed toys out the car window (I was four) if i cried about something and say, do you want to stop crying or see another one of your babies go out the window??" My father died and I am only child, she moved in with me! Now, I put up with mean insults on a daily basis and she is now 92! Shes not senile, just mean..very mean...I would think that she/I could reconcile some of the stuff, but no, she keeps on going, along with insulting my teens...help!!! My teens are ADHD and we have major issues, school, work etc Sometimes its too much for me to take. I get no help from my 16 year old and 18 year old who hate her. I am lonely, frustrated and cant do anything right in her opinion or the kids opinion, although i have always been home with them, took good care of them. I try to take good care of her, she always has meals cooked; although they are always "slop" mostly or yesterday she told me only "poor people eat pasta"...my hubby is away 3 days a week working..I am here with these monsters. Thats how I feel, a bunch of entitled self centered people who demand every moment. And contribute nothing...any helpful suggestions, i am sad...very sad...
First, good luck and take care of yourself! You are in a difficult space but at least you have some distance from your in laws so dealing with them without guilt should be something you can accomplish. Tell your mother-in-law plainly that she is not getting what she wants by being mean. That you are not going to put up with it, and t the staff will be less responsive to her if she is verbally abusive. Odds are she has much more control over her behavior that she has exercised over the years. I have seen elderly patients in nursing homes, with a long history of abuse behavior, be trained to behave by the staff. For some, it is the first time in their lives, they are being given limits and since they are not able to do things for themselves, they are forced to alter their nasty behavior. Discussing a plan of this sort with the head nurse in charge of your mother-in-law's care is a good idea that way the staff can explain to her plainly and clearly that she will always get the care to which she is entitled but she will not get nice extra visits etc because people are more likely to visit people who are nice.
Also keep in mind, that sometimes this verbally abusive behavior is the result of dementia or in women, urinary tract infections. But, keep your spirits up and head high.
If she is smart she will try to live happily with you and your family. Most elderly would love to have time with their teenage grandchildren. They would make sure she isn't lonely while you and your spouse work.
But back to Mom, tell her if she isn't happy and your family isn't happy with her there, she will be the one leaving for a nursing home (if she is low on resources-medicaid will fine a placement--then she will indeed be eating "slop"). Or she can go to her own home and hire out a live in aide but she will have to shape up and not abuse them verbally as they will not stay. She will not have a caring family member at either option. Let her know that you will make the call. She will have to adjust at either living arrangement. Current behavior isn't going to
continue. It is disrespectful to your family and it will not be tolerated.
Finally I am an only child and I know this is very difficult to do. But your first
loyalty is to your children and husband. Your mother can't poison the home you have worked to create.
Mom may shape up if she knows she is on her way out of the family home. Perhaps a brief visit to a respite nursing home for a week or two would drive the point home to her if she is a slow learner.
Good luck.
Elizabeth
We have never been able to live together for very long and she has wrecked havoc with her finances so many times that she had no where else to go, as her son is just like her.
Due to all of this, we have already made the decision that once my mother is hospitalized (for whatever) and can no longer care for herself, we will have her transferred to a nursing home; but she must stay in the hospital for at least 3 to 4 days.
Talk to her doctor. See about having her admitted for something!!! Once it's determined she can no longer care for herself, have her moved to a nursing home. The social workers on staff will assist you in working down her assets so that she can qualify for medicaid and once this happens, she'll remain there.
This may sound cruel, but it's your emotional health, your families too and the best place for someone like this.
This is exactly what will happen to my mother once she reaches the state that she can no longer care for herself. You can't even begin to imagine all the things she's done to others in her life. It's like a Stephen King novel, but real!
Feeling sad is also a strong sign of depression. Very powerful and must be checked into. Find a friend who might be willing to come with you to a dr. a support group or just be willing to say let's make a game plan. Being upset, feeling helpless will not change a thing, Most of us know the definition of insanity right?
Doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. Also like taking poison and hoping the other person will die. Sorry do not mean to be trivial, been there done that and it took courage, perseverance and my desire to save my three daughters. I had a mean ex husband and my 82 year old mom is better but will be who she is for as long as she lives. We can not change them, only ourselves.. Good luck
She was eventually taken into hospital,because she would not let me help with anything.Sometimes when she didnt let me in,I would drive all the way home and then she would ring me,it was ALL games with her.When she was released from hospital,i made the decision to put her in a Nursing home.I tried with her,but realized if she came home,me and my family would have a dogs life(worse)
So she is taken care off,I am so much happier,and seriously have no guilt.
All you can do is try,but then thats not always enough.For once" ElderlyandADHD" ,do what is right for you and your family.
If you were trying to fix some childhood issues by having your mom move in with you, I hope you realize that was futile. Any repair must begin with her acknowledging the mistakes she made and apologizing for them. There's a snowball's chance in hell that will happen though. I would try to get her out of your house as soon as possible. You've done all you can do. God bless you.
Stay nice yourself. Try not every to match her with ugliness. It solves nothing and you will feel terrible. Then try to talk with her. If she gets ugly, walk away and try to talk with her another day. She may not realize what she is doing. She may not know that there are other ways to get the things she wants and needs.
She will likely pass away before you do and when it's all over, you will be comforted to know you remained kind.
Hopefully, she will listen to your calm conversation and she will try to be better. Don't give up on yourself. You have to take care of yourself and your family, first... in order to be able to help her at all. I hope you can find ways to enjoy your life!
I have finally gotten to the point-as Elizabeth stated in her post-of understanding that she is no longer and cannot be priority one. I have to place my daughter and my husband as top priority.
The one thing that has stood out for me through this entire process is the alienation of other family members and friends. It appears no one wants to hear about this type of thing or let alone be around it. Just sad-----
She smokes like a chimney, she is bipolar with a borderline personality disorder (of the meanest kind), so she has super highs and super lows and when gets her money, it's daily to the scratch offs! I don't know if there are more ashes or scratch off debris in the floorboard.
I'm not alone with these feelings. Everyone from her family and mine know exactly how mean and nasty she is. She showers her son (no I divorced him from my life forever ago) with sweet nothings and he takes all he can get. He got the same gene pool! I just thank goodness he's half a country away.
I may sound mean and nasty myself, but trust me, it took quite a bit of therapy to come to terms with these two individuals.
Look at it like this, if you didn't like them visiting or never cared for them in the first place; you certainly don't want them living with you, because a tiger never loses it's stripes.
There is nothing in the law that say "YOU" must be the one to care for them.
PS I was an advocate for individuals with special needs before I retired. There are places for people like this. Some are sick, some are just down right mean, but that doesn't mean you have to bear the burden.
The women may outlive me!
Don't the scientists and doctors tell us that surrounding yourself with a community of loving friends and family will lead to a long life? Don't they say living naturally, off the land, growing and making your own food, for and with your family will help you live a long, long time? Living to 89 and 95 warehoused with other old, ill, sometimes unhappy people while being grumpy is pretty outstanding! I'm scientifically impressed by your in-laws who are defying science, by pushing their loved ones away and yet going strong.
Who are we to believe??? I for one am still going to try to be loving to my family and friends. It's a stumper sometimes!
Yes, ask for what you want. It may take you some time to think of what you want, but ask for it, because if you don't, you won't get it.
I spent years driving 45 minutes back and forth to mom's, then 45 minutes in the other direction back and forth to all her doctors. No gas money, no recognition for the wear and tear on my life, my car, my family...
Then someone said ask for what you want. So, very slowly ... I did. Not much, but I asked for gas money once in a while. It was really nice to get a full tank of gas sometimes when we went somewhere. Also, I needed boots that were water proof. When I got them, mom gave me the $50 for the warm water proof boots. It's not much, but she NEVER would have given anything, if I didn't tell her what I needed.
Later, she started telling me to tell her what I needed and I kept resisting, thinking she should give what SHE thinks I deserve, or what SHE wants to give, but she had no ideas herself. The only things she ever gave me where things I asked for.
Mostly, I asked her to ... Just say Thank You! That's all I wanted... Just recognize that I took time out of my day and acknowledge that I did a nice thing. That took a long time for her to do, but she did... she recognized and thanked me a lot the last few months she was here....
and I appreciate her so much for just saying thank you.
I had to ask for it, tho...
first and foremost on their minds as they struggle with the aging process and
various disabling conditions. My father did thank me but it was not the rule rather the exception. I knew he appreciated my taking care of him. We were close and able to finish each others sentences. As caregivers, you know when they are happy in their home and with you. Don't get hung up on the small things. See the big picture, the love between you and your elderly parent.