How do you care for a crazy elderly parent?

You take him or her to a psychiatrist...and they lie to the shrink saying they feel fine and you are just imagining it. The shrink winds up saying [i]you[/i] need therapy! But your elderly parent has slashed his/her arm with a butcher knife screaming, "I want to die!" And been taken to the Emergency hospital for stitches the night before seeing the shrink. (The shrink refuses your request to look at the Emergency hospital records). Your elderly parent has also deliberately grabbed a very personal part of your body and grinned, enjoying your shocked reaction. But you can't convince a doctor.

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SW-User

What the hell did I just read. The grinning part is unsettling.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@SW-User Bad description...It was more like a small sadistic smile. There was a brief moment when I considered calling the police.

SW-User

@greenmountaingal Damn. When did this happen?

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@SW-User Some years ago, back in the late 90s; I felt so alone at the time. I took my mother to several shrinks but she treated it like a game she enjoyed playing...and she always won.

My mother, who was quite a character, is strongly featured during her lively younger years in my Featured story under my profile (I Wan To Know The Truth Behind My Family's Secrets And Lies).

SW-User

@greenmountaingal Sounds like she was very mentally unstable.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@SW-User I now realize she was what shrinks call an "elite deviant." Some shrinks consider it a mental illness while others do not.

Wiseacre · F

@greenmountaingal why is this still an issue..u're in ur 70s..

SW-User

@Wiseacre She still can’t come to terms with what happened, and probably never got closure. It’s not easy. This is her own mom after all.

Wiseacre · F

@SW-User yes, but we're not shrinks!

SW-User

@Wiseacre Point is?

Wiseacre · F

@SW-User point obvious!

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

I don't really need shrinkage. (I've had it).But after being alone with these memories for a long time, it is of interest to me, and somewhat comforting, to know how others might've reacted.

You might have a better idea of why dealing with my mother was so difficult--and outright weird--by reading my Featured story under my profile (I Wan To Know The Truth Behind My Family's Secrets And Lies).