Families & Friends Of Addicts Support Group
Addiction affects more than just the individual. This community is dedicated to the families and friends of individuals suffering from any form of addiction. Mental health professionals are increasingly considering alcoholism and addiction as diseases that flourish in and are enabled by family systems. Family members react to the addicted person with particular behavioral...
when is it ok to estrange adult child addict?
samuraichar
My daughter is 24. She's been a meth addict for about 3 years. Before that she was diagnosed with BPD. She's been emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive since she was 15-16. I'm not the perfect mom. Maybe I'm not even a 'good enough' mom, who knows. I did the best I could. I'm not an addict, not an abuser, nothing evil. I have 3 other kids that are totally ok. I have tried to help her for so long. Inpatient treatment. Therapy. She's had traumas that occurred outside of the home, but the blame always lands on me, for everything, ever, even the imaginary things. And there are plenty of those when she's been tweaking for 2 weeks. She will say anything to hurt me and try to ruin my marriage. To give an idea of what she is like: She told my husband I was cheating on him when I was at a baby shower. He knew where I was, but the intent is the problem. She was mad because he wouldn't give her a ride to someone's house. She told my sons that during a brief separation from my husband, I was prostituting to pay my bills. I had a full time job. That was when she was mad because I told her to stop screaming profanity at her 4 year old daughter, or leave my house. She gets upset when you question her stellar parenting skills. (She claims to have learned these from me, though none of the other kids seem to remember this example. I do admit I was overly critical academically, and depressed a lot, but I never struck her or cursed at her, or screamed at her, or anyone else. I accept my shortcomings, but being verbally abusive was never one of them. I don't see how a harsh critique of a homework assignment in 7th grade or sleeping too late because I was depressed is the same as screaming profanities at toddlers.) She then went out in the front yard and screamed at the top of her lungs that I was showing my boobs on the internet if anyone wanted to come look. She once told someone that I kidnapped her from a hospital as an infant and that I wasn't her real mom. She put that one on Facebook. She accused my husband of fondling her in the kitchen the last time she was at my house. I don't believe her, based on past experience. She won't go to treatment. She calls me every name in the book, then just calls again the next time she needs something. No empathy. No remorse. No hint of taking responsibility for ANYTHING she has ever done or failed to do. It's my fault she is violent, promiscuous, on drugs, broke, can't see her kids, can't work, can't drive the car I gave her because I stopped paying for the insurance and I won't pay to get it out of impound.....When can I say no contact? I can't live like this anymore. She even lied and said she was pregnant to get me to let her stay with me. Then she just woke up the next day and went to go party some more. She just needed a place to sleep in between binges. She stays at various houses with whoever will let her right now. This is also blames on me because I won't let her stay in my home because she has punched so many holes in the walls. I refuse to subject the two boys that still live at home to her insanity, or enable her to continue to get high without dealing with the consequences. I'm so stuck. I can't do it anymore. Does anyone ever just give up and go no contact with their addicted adult child? She calls me 3-4 times a day and leaves messages guilt tripping and cussing at me, so technically, it's not no contact for her. Ha. Ha. Today she called..high and raging as always. The last voicemail said "Mother" This is your "daughter." Will you at least call and tell my kids their mom loves them. I'm sure they are hurt because their other grandma won't let me talk to them either.
Things would be a lot different if you'd let me stay at your house, but you don't care about anyone but yourself." This following 3 days straight of rants and lies and calling me names until the recorder times out and hangs up on her. Like I'm rude for not answering and listening to that in person. I really can't do it anymore and I don't know how to deal with the stress and guilt.
I think I posted this in the wrong area....sorry if I'm duplicating my question.
Things would be a lot different if you'd let me stay at your house, but you don't care about anyone but yourself." This following 3 days straight of rants and lies and calling me names until the recorder times out and hangs up on her. Like I'm rude for not answering and listening to that in person. I really can't do it anymore and I don't know how to deal with the stress and guilt.
I think I posted this in the wrong area....sorry if I'm duplicating my question.
Based on what you told me, your daughter has primarily a behavior problem, accompanied with drug abuse.
And you know what seems to be the relationship problem with both my online friend and you? You both really, really tried to be the best moms in the world. (letting that sink in for a moment).
Please think about all the times you "bailed your daughter out" and "rescued" her. My friend did that all the time with her daughter too. She did that mainly because her own mother never-ever came to her rescue when she was a little girl. Her daughter was the perfect angel until her daughter met Miss Little Bad Ass at school. And when her daughter became "best friends forever" with Little Miss Bad Ass, my friend had frequent visits from the police because her little angel and Little Miss Bad Ass were turning into nasty juvenile delinquents.
My friend, the Super Mom was helpless to change any of it. Until...
Her little angel, now Little Miss Bad Ass's Side-Kick moved in with Little Miss Bad Ass at the tender age of 16 and dropped out of Highschool. My friend was just unhappy as you were.
But I told my friend: Your job is NOT to win prizes as Super Mom of the Year. Your job is NOT to rescue Fallen Angels who are studying to become Bad Asses. Your job is to teach your child how to become an adult the best way you can.
AAAAGGGGHHHH! my friend said. "It's too late for that! And she's doing all this really nasty stuff now!" she wailed.
No, it's not too late. You just have to toughen up a little. You have to tell your daughter "like it is": It's YOUR house. YOUR house has rules. If people do not obey the rules of YOUR house, they must leave. The kids follow the rules. The adults follow the rules. And even the kids see that if Little Miss Bad Ass cannot follow rules, she must leave. That is an example for the kids.
But it wasn't easy. Her daughter begged for money for food; for clothes; for bus money. But I begged my friend not to give her any. I told my friend: Tell she can come home if she can follow rules. Throw her out if she cannot follow them.
My friend would cry herself to sleep at night. She thought about how much all the nasty stuff her daughter said to her. It really hurt.
I told her: STOP your crying. You are doing the most important thing for your daughter. You are teaching her the most important thing she needs to know in her life: Being an adult. Being responsible for yourself. It's a VERY important lesson. PLEASE don't f*** it up, just because you feel sorry for her.
My friend let her daughter live with Little Miss Bad Ass until the day Little Miss Bad Ass screwed her "best friend forever" over. And then her daughter learned what that felt like.
My friend moved with her husband to a different state. Her fallen angel of daughter finally got a job, finished highschool and stopped manipulating her family and friends - because she discovered the most important thing in her life: It works better when you change your attitude and cooperate with people.
BE HARD TO YOUR DAUGHTER. FOR HER SAKE.
Here's the deal....
YOU DIDNT CAUSE THIS!!! You can't control her. Only yourself. It's her journey in life. And we cannot fix it. Such a hard concept even for someone like myself who has dealt with this for 21 years. I always wondered where did I go wrong. Truth is they want you to believe that. It's a manipulation. Gets us to keep giving into what they want.
She says those things about you because she is projecting her feelings about herself (believe me they hate themselves for using) onto you. Takes the focus off her.
I know how deeply hurt you are. I've had some really hurtful things said to me too. For a long time I say believing some of it. Maybe because I was battered and beaten down so long.
Yes I've cut my sons off at times. Was it hard...absolutely. I don't know if I worry more when they are home or when they get thrown out. We never really sleep much as a mother of an addict.
When do you cut the ties? Only you can answer that. Are you willing to lose your marriage? I did. Are you willing to let your other kids get lost because she sucks you dry? Most importantly are you willing to stop caring about who you are because you live so abused everyday. Yes you are totally abused.
It's not easy turning your back on your child. Adult or not. I had to. Today he is a business man and is getting married in a few months. Maybe he resents me for it. I don't know. Doesn't seem to. We are working on our relationship.
I can tell you this...the way it is isn't working for you...your marriage...your kids....your Daughter. You can fix your end by stopping the insanity. Or you can continue to live in guilt that somehow you caused this. Let go and let God. If love was only enough it I wouldn't have lost 21 years of my life to their addictions.
think of the oxygen mask on the plane scenario...you put yours on first to then save others.
you need to save yourself.
we all only did the best we knew how.
As much as you are able, turn her completely over to the care of her Creator, allow her to fully experience the consequences of all her choices, and preserve yourself while trusting God for the outcome. It sounds trite but I certainly don't intend it to...we've walked this path with both of our adult sons, both recovering heroin addicts. It took one going to jail and the other severely overdosing before they woke up, but they have both stated that they thank God for jail/overdose because that's what led to their recovery.
I will offer to you the following verse of Scripture that God quickened to my spirit in March before our sons got clean:
"But you will not need to fight! Take your places; stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you! Do not be afraid or discouraged! Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!"
~ 2 Chronicles 20:17
My paraphrasing is as follows:
"This is not my fight. It's not even my sons' fight...the fight belong to the Lord. My job is to stand firm in the Truth and in what's right, not to enable. God is going to fight this battle on my behalf and on their behalf. He is going to perform an INCREDIBLE RESCUE OPERATION for me, for them. I must trust Him fully because what He says He'll do, He will do. Now I have to move forward in faith and trust Him for whatever has to happen."
Scary, I know, but we witnessed that incredible rescue operation, twice {both sons}! Stand your ground, refuse to enable your daughter, pray, and grab onto something.