Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So your sister is an alcoholic and your take is that she is trashy and unpleasant to be around. No wonder she drinks. Way to not be able to assess a situation
Oh please, it is not OP’s fault that her sister is an alcoholic.
PP has a point. Of course it’s not OP’s fault that the sister is alcoholic. But the fact that the family judges the sister rather than recognizing the core of her problem is a symptom of the family’s dysfunction.
No. The sister being an alcoholic is THE core of the family’s dysfunction. The sister’s behavior is her responsibility and only her responsibility. And she is the one not only ruining the experiences of others, she’s traumatizing all the children that are witness to her behavior.
Anonymous wrote:OP some alcoholics have a pattern of losing it on weekends and vacations and keeping it together at work. They are no less sick. She needs rehab.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Your parents are enabling her behavior. Don’t go on vacation with them, don’t believe you can fix her problems, stop discussing it with your family. Your parents will probably stay involved “for the sake of the kids”, maybe rightfully so, but unfortunately it will hinder the overall situation rather than help, because your sister will not have to learn how to get her life together. I’m so intimately aware of this dynamic that I could have written your post. In my family’s case, it has only gotten worse, bordering on tragic. I focus on my own husband and kids (and lots of therapy), my door is open to my parents if they want to visit us (which they rarely can due to their obligations to their other grandkids), but we don’t do extended family visits to their hometown anymore.
Thank you for your post. Over the last 2 years I have developed horrible anxiety for how my sister is turning out and how her oldest kid is developing. I have gone to therapy over it, started meditating, etc. My nephew has become a total nightmare, he is violent (he hits, throws things, bites, spits at you, kicks you in the shins, breaks everything he can get his hands on). He uses horrible language and phrases ("you disgust me, I hate you, you're so fat, you're nothing, I never want to see you again, F you, I hate this sh!t, you're a b!tch". He is 6. He has gotten kicked out of one daycare and one half day private kindergarten. He will start the local public school (which is excellent) in a week. My sister got him into behavioral therapy last spring at the insistence of his school, but stop after a month because she said he was all better and it was too expensive. My parents and I offered to pay. I pleaded with her to get him tested so he can have some sort of IEP or plan for when he starts public. But someone at her hospital where she works told her she shouldn't do that because he will be labeled for life and that's worse. Her other kid is much younger and seems ok.
My sister refuses to do anything positive or take suggestions when she asks for them. I don't give her unsolicited advice. I also do not want to take her kids on vacation, I've done that, the 6 year old threw one of those small no hole bowling balls at me because he was upset he got a gutter ball at bowling. He also has pulled my hair and almost broken my nose. My kids are miserable when they are around, it's not fun for anyone. And I have to put my children first in this. It sucks all around.
Anonymous wrote:Next time, go on vacation with your parents and offer to take her children with you so she gets a “break.” I bet everyone will be happier.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So your sister is an alcoholic and your take is that she is trashy and unpleasant to be around. No wonder she drinks. Way to not be able to assess a situation
Oh please, it is not OP’s fault that her sister is an alcoholic.
PP has a point. Of course it’s not OP’s fault that the sister is alcoholic. But the fact that the family judges the sister rather than recognizing the core of her problem is a symptom of the family’s dysfunction.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So your sister is an alcoholic and your take is that she is trashy and unpleasant to be around. No wonder she drinks. Way to not be able to assess a situation
Oh please, it is not OP’s fault that her sister is an alcoholic.
PP has a point. Of course it’s not OP’s fault that the sister is alcoholic. But the fact that the family judges the sister rather than recognizing the core of her problem is a symptom of the family’s dysfunction.
No. The sister being an alcoholic is THE core of the family’s dysfunction. The sister’s behavior is her responsibility and only her responsibility. And she is the one not only ruining the experiences of others, she’s traumatizing all the children that are witness to her behavior.
Anonymous wrote:Is your sister married? Sometimes it can be the influence of a spouse. My sister lived with our parents until she went to college at 18. She's been with her husband for 20 years. She's had more years of influence from him than her family. She grew up UMC and well-spoken, well-read etc., and she now speaks with a fake? Appalachian accent because of her husband and in-laws. She had nice teeth growing up (orthodontia) but now is missing teeth and hasn't gotten them fixed. We were never yelled at or spanked but she "hollers" at her kids and smacks them. It's scary to me and I try to limit my kids spending time at her house. When we hang out one to one as sisters, it seems fine, and she loses her mountain accent. Maybe she's just code switching to survive but it's weird and sad.