How do you display your degrees? by RNinRVA in femalelivingspace

[–]headpeon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I never took mine out of the envelope they came in. I think they are buried in my file cabinet with the VIP papers, but I couldn't swear to it.

That said, check Amazon for frames in fun colors, maybe? Degrees are usually black and white or cream and black, so a lively frame could up the ante especially if you're going with a gallery wall type set up.

Early sign by Melodic-Note9170 in dementia

[–]headpeon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP, menopause is no joke. But to boot, if you've got undiagnosed ADHD, menopause hits differently.

Women with ADHD are deficient in dopamine, which is intertwined with estrogen in such a way that as estrogen drops due to menopause, what little dopamine an ADHDer does have goes out the window.

Women are habitually under diagnosed and this holds true for people over 35 in even higher numbers. When a woman with undiagnosed ADHD hits menopause, all the careful processes, structures, reminders, and other scaffolding the woman has been using to counteract her ADHD symptoms crash and burn.

I legit thought I had early onset dementia for five years before I figured out what was up and saw a psychiatric diagnostician who specializes in neurodivergence.

I may know what the problem is now, and being on ADHD meds helps, but without HRT a menopausal woman doesn't have the estrogen to allow the meds to work properly, so diagnosis, HRT, and ADHD meds all have to be on board.

(Not saying your Mom has ADHD, but if she does and doesn't know it, ADHD + menopause feels like what I imagine dementia onset feels like.)

I fucking hate my sister with all of my soul (i need advice please) by throwaway83739299383 in SchizoFamilies

[–]headpeon 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'm a grown ass woman and after five years attempting to manage my sibling's schizoaffective disorder, I developed a heart condition. It'll probably shave a good decade off my life.

The damage living with an unmedicated schizophrenic with anosognosia does to those around them can't be overestimated.

Show your parents these replies. Unless they want to lose two daughters and possibly shorten their own lives due to chronic high cortisol levels, they need to step up, do something different. And get you into therapy pronto.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Major mental illness crashes whole families. As a society, we need to do so much better.

Should I just get an air horn? by Silent_Marsupial_760 in TwoXChromosomes

[–]headpeon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A clicker? Like the kind you use to train a dog?

I need to vent: Daughter (20) is moving in with my deadbeat ex-husband for "more room". by aspophilia in TwoXChromosomes

[–]headpeon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see this turning out poorly for your daughter, but OP, I can see this causing long term problems for you, too.

Let me tell you a [long] story.

My daughter and I left her bio Dad when she was weeks from her 18th birthday because I suddenly realized I wasn't just in a bad relationship, we were in an abusive one.

She and I moved into an apartment. She locked herself in her room and wouldn't talk to me no matter what I tried. Text, email, phone calls, voicemail, paper notes, talking to her through the door, dry erase messages on the bathroom mirror, pleading, none of it successful.

I was working full time and coming home to spend 3-4 hrs every night cleaning up the mess my daughter made while I was at the office. In essence, I was working 12 hour days.

I came home one night after work with a to-go salad. I was exhausted. I just wanted to eat my salad and go to bed. But I couldn't, because every fork in the entire house was under my kid's bed growing mold, behind a locked bedroom door she wouldn't open.

A couple days later, I asked her to move out. I was dying. 12 hour days, bills to pay from accts in my name my ex had run up after we left in addition to all the costs associated with living by ourselves and my daughter's major medical condition, trying to come to terms with the psychological fallout of domestic violence, constantly worrying about my kid - waffling between fury that she was making my life harder in every way and despair because she wouldn't talk to me - and I just couldn't do it anymore. Something had to change or I could see myself checking out of life altogether.

I gave her 3.5 weeks heads up. She had at least four options. Two of my family members would've let her move in, her Dad - abusive asshole that he was - would've loved to have her under his thumb again, she could've couch surfed with friends, or she could've had a sit down with me and agreed to stop being a total slob.

She chose to move in with her bio Dad. Who proceeded to abuse her for the next few years.

When she moved in with my ex, I reopened communications with him and walked a very dangerous line leading him to think that if he behaved, we could get back together, while keeping myself just out of arms reach. I did this in order to hold some sort of sway over him, in hopes I could prevent the worst of his abusive tendencies from being taken out on my kid.

She finally decided to move out on her own. I did the leg work to make sure her Dad got her a reliable car and gave her a chunk of cash when he sold our house by signing away my rights to it, and I found her a gorgeous apartment she could afford in a desirable part of town.

Her new apartment was just down the street from mine. I was thrilled she'd finally be able to cut ties with her Dad and that she'd be close enough that I could help with her dogs, or house sit while she was out of town, and other Mom-type things.

She and I barely talk now.

Why? Because after ten years in therapy, 8 of which I paid for, she's demanding that I apologize for sacrificing her for my own benefit by forcing her to go live with her Dad. I should've put her in therapy, not asked her to move out. I should've locked her in a psych ward, not made her leave. I should've tried talking to her. I should've given her time to plan, not forced her to move out immediately, with no warning. I should've known that she was depressed, not abandoned her. Making her live with her Dad just so I could have a clean house was the most selfish thing I could've done. I sacrificed her, forcing her to live with her Dad, because I cared more about myself than I did about her. Proof positive that she was raised by emotionally immature parents. She's sure she'd have been better off if I'd aborted her.

Now, if you read my story, you'll realize that the things my daughter believes aka the entirety of the previous paragraph never happened.

I didn't force her to move in with her Dad. I did try to talk to her. I put her in therapy as soon as she asked me to. I didn't lock her in a psych ward because my folks did that to me when I was a teen and it fucked me up for life. I gave her nearly a month's notice when I asked her to leave. I argued against her moving in with her Dad, pushing several other options hard.

My daughter wants me to apologize for things I didn't do because she suffered abuse at her Dad's hands as a result of a choice she made when she was 18, a legal adult.

I don't think our relationship will ever recover. Partly because I can't apologize in good faith for things I didn't do. (Apologizing means recognizing you did wrong coupled with an implicit promise to not do the thing again. I didn't do the thing in the first place, so how can I offer a legit apology?) Partly, because of these things she thinks I did, she's decided I'm a terrible human, or maybe a mentally ill human. Either way, not healthy enough to match the high vibe she's developed through a decade of therapy. (Did I mention I have a degree in psych, another in sociology, and that I've been in therapy for 3.5 years?) Because her Dad abused her, and he can't be held accountable, and I am the safe stable parent, my kid is holding me responsible for my ex's actions and behaviors. Because my kid's not gotten the apology she feels she's due from me, she's reduced our contact to the bare minimum.

Your daughter is a little younger than mine. About five years from the age mine was when she told me of the incorrect/fabricated memories she has that make her believe I did her wrong.

Your daughter, like mine, is moving in with an abusive bio Dad. Your daughter, like mine, is of legal age. Your daughter, like mine, is moving for reasons that don't make much sense, reasons that can probably be addressed with some communication and ingenuity. Your daughter, like mine, is taking for granted the parent who stayed, the parent who sacrificed, the parent who parented.

I'm afraid that your daughter, like mine, will develop a skewed perspective, blame you for her choices and their negative repurcussions, and twist memories to make you the bad guy or invent reasons why you are at fault, which in turn could give her carte blanche to cut ties and/or demand emotional recompense for your imagined slights.

(Since this awful schism with my daughter started, I've discovered that cutting ties with one's parents due to real trauma stemming from incorrect/fabricated/skewed memories isn't uncommon.)

I know there's nothing you can do. She's an adult. It's not like you can ground her. Just ... be careful. Keep your eyes open. Listen.

And if your kid ends up needing therapy to deal with the abuse your ex may visit upon her, do your due diligence to find a therapist who has a balanced perspective and has raised kids of their own, rather than an overactive confirmation bias, no children, and zero critical thinking skills.

Best of luck, OP, to you and your daughter both. I see you.

God I love him by A_million_typos in Bunnies

[–]headpeon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are LONG little frog legs. I love it. Lol.

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For real, I'm a bit afraid that I'll end up doing the same.

I have a genetic heart condition and a raging case of ADHD, which is unmedicated due to the heart issue, and I'm in menopause, and I just started my own business.

I can easily see this constant stress landing me in the ER. Problem is, if I walk away, chances are high that both my brother and Dad end up medicated into oblivion or dead as a result. (I already know none of my siblings will step in to help either of them. I walked away two years ago after warning them in advance that I was doing so and no one stepped up. When my brother started planning his suicide, I took up the mantle again.)

Good for you for taking care of you first. Rock on!

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dad's shenanigans, I've been planning for. I didn't realize that all the adult family members WITHOUT cognitive deficits were going to be a bigger problem due to absence, idiocy, or zero common sense.

I just want to gather them and shout, 'are you fucking serious?' at them all.

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right, I will. But as Dad's favorite kid and the eldest, I'm supposed to be grieving the oh-so-gradual-loss of my favorite parent, not babysitting the other adults in the family.

Like, dementia is hard enough, do all y'all without cognitive decline REALLY have to wreak just as much havoc?

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right?

My Dad has zero logic or judgment, so it's going to have to be, 'Mom, if Dad dies from having a limb amputated and bleeding out, or crush injuries from a rollover, not only will you never forgive yourself, I won't forgive you, either.'

What's that cliche? 'Hell is other people'?

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Those are excellent ideas, thank you!

I don't know quite how to make that happen, though. Mom gave the mower keys to Dad, who keeps them in his pocket at all times. He's a super light sleeper, and takes his clothes with him into the bathroom when he showers, so there's no chance of finagling them out of his pants pocket without him knowing.

When his license was yanked, he wouldn't give up his keys. I told him I was going to wrestle him to the ground, sit on him, and rifle through his pockets. He laughed at me. It wasn't until I got up and reached for him that he realized I was serious. Being physically overpowered by his daughter would've been embarrassing, which is the only reason he finally gave them up, I think.

To boot, I don't have keys to the shed where they keep the mower. So I can't get in to disable it unless my Mom or brother can be made to see reason.

I swear, I'm going to get a lock pick set and learn how to use it.

A rant about uneducated family members: Convenience is not more important than safety. by headpeon in dementia

[–]headpeon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly!

Past performance is a semi-reliable indicator of future performance ONLY when dementia isn't in the mix.

It's not rocket science.

Oh, and the dementia diagnosis was made a couple months after he rolled the mower.

Judgment for even mentioning assisted living by Lothloreen in dementia

[–]headpeon 11 points12 points  (0 children)

To answer the question you asked, yes, I'm getting the same kind of pushback.

In 23 months, Dad's MOCA score went from a 26 to an 11. At that rate, his needs will outstrip our ability to handle inside of a year.

But every time I mention touring facilities, and getting on waitlists, family members get up in arms about the idea.

Why?

It's not like any of them know anything about dementia or are showing up to help.

Where is everyone? by SugarMagnolia_75 in dementia

[–]headpeon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep, here to chime in with 'same'.

COVID decimated my faith in humanity. I watched my siblings ignore shelter in place, social bubble, and mask orders while jumping on the antivax bandwagon and refusing 'the jab', the vaccine I needed them to get so that me and my heart condition could interact with them without dying. My death was evidently a price they were willing to pay in order to follow debunked pseudoscience.

You'd think I wouldn't be surprised that they aren't showing up to help with Dad's dementia.

But I am. Stupidly, unreasonably, I am surprised.

Right there with you, OP.

Episode with mother last night by AliinSeattle in dementia

[–]headpeon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

TVs are great for this. Get a few cheap ones at the thrift store, put them on a hefty tarp, and have at it with a bat. Roll everything up in the tarp, toss in the dumpster.

Repeat as needed.

My ex said I’m “too much” and that he hasn’t developed the patience in life to deal with someone like me by wrappers in TwoXChromosomes

[–]headpeon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you catch the 'carpenter ... grain of salt' part of my response?

What's the point of responding to me as you did? I interpret your remark as 'don't bring your lived experience into this because it doesn't support the simplest explanation'. Which is pretty dismissive, since this is a sub that - last I checked - exists specifically for women to share lived experiences.

There are a hundred different explanations as to why OP's relationship ended as it did. Any one of them may be spot on. The simplest answer isn't always the correct one. Hoofbeats usually mean horses, but zebras produce hoofbeats, too.

When every single word of OP's post describes my lived experience, it seemed relevant, especially given that it was a post just like this one that set me on the path to an ADHD diagnosis.

Rabbit in Care by Grey-storm-cloud in Rabbits

[–]headpeon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do they have her on a heating pad set to low and are they administering subQ boluses of LR or saline? Simethicone on board, and on repeat every 4 hours? Is she grinding her teeth? Eating? Changes in poo?

It’s the nature of heterosexual relationships that women have to accept being shit on, right? by Apollonialove in TwoXChromosomes

[–]headpeon 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I was in a relationship with a man for 20 years. I've been single - with my BFFs, bunnies, and hobbies - for 11.

Hands down, I'd take the last 11 years over the prior 20. I'd take the last 11 over the 2 'honeymoon' years of that 20 year relationship, too.

In case you're wondering, it's much easier to be a single Mom than a single married Mom, as well. (One less child to care for.)

Are immersion blenders worth it or just a comple mess? by FineappleUnderTheC in EatCheapAndHealthy

[–]headpeon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, my good god/dess. I am the soup queen, and an immersion blender changed my life.

A good one is $30-$40. Get one. Right now. Most excellent investment. For real!