Post by litskispeciality on May 7, 2024 10:05:17 GMT -5
((( ProfessorArtNerd ,))) parents being more inward aware than aware/caring for their own kids is brutal. I try to understand the car = freedom even if you can't drive it thing either, but it's so hard on us watching people pay for insurance, it go unused, worrying they will drive just once. Ugh huge hugs.
ETA: I've read one of the symptoms of FTD (with behaviors) is not caring about anyone else. Looking back it's so hard to tell if my dad was like that because of something in his brain, the way he was raised (his mother was awful and basically disowned me as a kid), or if he just didn't care that much. It's so much harder now too. You tell him something and he forgets, then acts like you were keeping something from him, no you just don't remember and I don't want to rehash it over and over.
My mom passed away from alcoholism before she was diagnosed with any kind of dementia (from that), but I had a counselor explain "wet brain". Again it's horrible just watching someone continue to poison themself.
I really wish we all could get together IRL for drinks and venting. I appreciate everyone's feed back here, while I'm sad you all have to go through it, it feels less lonely knowing it's not just me. I'm not so much dropping a ball somewhere as there are misdiagonses, lack of supports, burnouts and so on and so on. Huge, giant hugs.
My dad doesn't have FTD but somewhere along the line he became terribly selfish. I would say once my sister and I were past the baby/ toddler stage and into the school age stage he didn't participate in home life anymore. Just worked and came home, and drank alcohol. He never socialized, never went to band concerts, went to maybe 1-2 dance recitals, never cooked, never grocery shopped, never cleaned, never did any activities with us, didn't handle the finances. Went hunting and fishing on weekends in warm weather watched football and bad movies during cold weather and that was it. I never saw him exercise, mow the lawn or anything. It wasn't even until they divorced and I did my visitation that he even went to the movies or out to eat, so I was around age 15 at that time.