I am frustrated, I mean really frustrated with my mother in law this week.  My husband and I are aware that she has some mental health issues.  She won’t admit to any, but we know based on her behavior and things that she says.  She also has a seizure disorder that has taken a turn for the worse.

Several weeks ago she was driving and had a seizure.  While having her seizure she ran into another car.  The police officers who came to the scene put her on a warning and instructed her to go to her doctor.  She did and her doctor told her no driving.  My mother in law is evaluated weekly at this point and since she keeps having seizures she keeps being told no driving.

My frustration is that my mother in law has taken all of this to the extreme, emotion wise.  I try so hard to be understanding.  I know she has a mental illness.  I try to be paitent.  I try so hard to not get irritated with her.

Last week her being overly dramatic started.  She started telling everyone who would listen she that needed to be right next to her husband (who happens to be dead).   She also started telling my husband that if her children took steps to have her driving license taken away permanently, she would do something to herself. 

I do not mean to sound harsh, or unsympathetic, because I am.  This is something she has done several times in the past.  In most cases I would say, call the authorities and have her put in the hospital for evaluation.  However, it is hard to know if she means it or if it is part of the usual drama she does to guilt her children into doing what she wants. 

What she does not realize she is doing, is putting a huge amount of stress on my husband.  I mean huge.  He loves his mother very much and it causes him a great deal of emotional pain when she acts out this way.  This morning he told me that he has decided to take a break from his mother for a while.  He said he was “just not in the right frame of mind to deal with her drama”

I think that is a wise decision on his part, but it is frustrating that his mother pushed him to that point with her acting out.  I also think it might be good for his sibling to spend more of their time taking care of her for a while.  I am frustrated that my mother in law refuses to see, or acknowledge that her behavior is not only unhealthy for her, but also for the people who love her.