His Girlfriend Is Extremely Mentally Ill, And He Can’t Deal With Basically Being Her Parent Anymore
Two years ago, this 20-year-old guy met his 20-year-old girlfriend after being introduced through a friend they shared.
They instantly formed a bond, and after a good amount of flirting on both ends, he decided to ask her out on a date.
When they were still in just the talking stage, his girlfriend mentioned to him that she struggled with a mental illness.
“I understood; I personally had (still do) struggled with my mental health and had family members that did as well,” he explained.
“However, none of it [is] as extreme as her mental illness. In the beginning, she explained that if it’s something I can’t handle, she completely understands.”
He was so captivated by her that he genuinely believed he could handle her mental illness. Sadly, he’s come to realize he was so very wrong.
It’s gotten to a level where he feels more like a parent to his girlfriend than anything else. Every other day, he’s required to stop what he’s doing to swoop in and care for her, as she’s incapable of caring for herself.
Sometimes she’ll call him up screaming and crying amidst a panic attack because she thought he didn’t use the right tone in a text message.
Several months ago, she had another intense panic attack at her own birthday party, as she figured nobody was having a good time, even though he looked around and saw her entire family laughing and smiling.
ARMMY PICCA – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Her mom pulled her into the other room for 15 minutes, and I stayed with her family,” he said. “I sat there seeing her sister interact with her boyfriend, laughing, joking, and having a good time and I sat and wondered what it would be like to be him.”
“If the roles were switched and I was dating the fun sister and not the mentally ill one. And that was such a [terrible] thought to have, but I can’t help but think it.”
“My girlfriend ended up asking for me, and I had to go sit there for half an hour trying to stop her from crying while her family was laughing and having a good time in the other room. When she calls me, sometimes I feel a pit in my stomach because I don’t know what she’ll be going through this time.”
When his girlfriend asks him to spend time with her, he wants to decline, as he knows something inevitably will go wrong with her.
He might use a tone she gets upset by, or he finds himself getting irritated when she constantly wants to know if she’s upsetting him as he’s just trying to drive his car somewhere.
He’s also fed up with his girlfriend begging to meet his parents, even though he doesn’t really speak to them.
He can explain all he wants to his girlfriend why he doesn’t want to have a relationship with his mom and dad, but that only causes her to throw a total tantrum.
His parents are not nice people, and he can’t understand why his girlfriend says she must meet them.
They get into fights about meeting his parents constantly, and his girlfriend doesn’t listen to him when he says he wants to keep them out of his life.
They argue about other things aside from his parents, and if he suggests no longer being together, his girlfriend acts in a very alarming way.
“And if I ever insinuate that if we can’t fix the problem, our relationship won’t work, she will scream, cry, have a panic attack, and pass out,” he continued.
“And when she wakes up, we can no longer talk about it because I will “trigger her again.” I can’t put up with it anymore. But if I ever try to end it, God knows what she will do. She is overly dependent on me, and I am trapped.”
What advice do you have for him?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Relationships