Living with people with disabilities is never easy. Living with folks on the Autism Spectrum is even more so - I think coming in second only to living with folks suffering from Alzheimer's.
Is there a support group for caretakers in your area that you can get to? Is there a Mental Health Center at which you could talk to someone and maybe get a few ideas on how to cope and/or successfully accomplish some behavior modification? Do YOU have someone who is in a position to give you some respite from time to time, so that YOU don't burn out and, as you say, simply put the stuff on the curb and wash your hands of her?
I sympathize. I really do. I urge you to look into what resources for support and assistance might exist in your area. You aren't admitting failure if you make use of them. Trust me. Been there, done that.
I can only second what aearwen2 has said about support groups-and I realize that even that depends on availability (which could well include cost). I've not "been there, done that". My elderly mother, with whom I lived for years, only had physical problems, not mental ones; and she was the exact opposite, i.e. tried to manage too much that had got beyond her.
If push comes to shove, you may have to. That's hard to contemplate, I know. But, if you really do break down, that will help no one.
I suspect, though, that you're probably reacting to a bad day. In a bad week, a bad month, a bad year.... But it sounds like an ongoing chronic situation (unlike steady deterioration that can have only one conclusion).
Are you getting enough sleep? The less sleep you get, the more depressed you feel and the less you can cope. I know that one.
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Is there a support group for caretakers in your area that you can get to? Is there a Mental Health Center at which you could talk to someone and maybe get a few ideas on how to cope and/or successfully accomplish some behavior modification? Do YOU have someone who is in a position to give you some respite from time to time, so that YOU don't burn out and, as you say, simply put the stuff on the curb and wash your hands of her?
I sympathize. I really do. I urge you to look into what resources for support and assistance might exist in your area. You aren't admitting failure if you make use of them. Trust me. Been there, done that.
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If push comes to shove, you may have to. That's hard to contemplate, I know. But, if you really do break down, that will help no one.
I suspect, though, that you're probably reacting to a bad day. In a bad week, a bad month, a bad year.... But it sounds like an ongoing chronic situation (unlike steady deterioration that can have only one conclusion).
Are you getting enough sleep? The less sleep you get, the more depressed you feel and the less you can cope. I know that one.
Reply
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