#greatpretender, Family disasters, Find A Way, Health & Wellness, Mental Health, narcissism, narcisstic personality disorder, PTSD, Trauma

Development Arrested

Anyone have a friend or family member that is “a total bust?” Someone who never learns from their mistakes, continues to create havoc month after month and somehow they come out scott free with no consequences? They have no real concept of anything.

Yes we can say, “let’s not judge someone in their worst moment” but with this person; there are TOO many “worst moments” to count. We can say to each their own or karma will get them, but who wants to wait for that? They are continuing to cause permanent, devastating injury to other people and children.

They constantly get everyone all riled up and cause an incident to be an utter emergency. You scramble to help find solutions to assist and then they will be like “never mind, it’s fine now.” Every time they are around it is absolute chaos.

They are too lazy & clueless to do the emotional work it takes to change.

I just don’t get it. Karma, where are you? I feel like if I made one of the mistakes this person makes, my life would be over. I would end up in jail.

When you try and sit down with this person and have a civilized conversation, they do not provide the answer you are looking for.

They will instigate & rage-bait you, then when you explode; they play the victim.

In addition to their lack of self-awareness & personality flaws, they usually have a substance abuse problem that is off the chain. When you attempt to convey your concern for their health & safety, they dismiss you.

Then they will constantly find excuses to avoid situations they do not want to attend. They are always “sick” and their kids are always “sick”. When it’s is a consistent pattern, it’s pretty obvious. My favorite is when they will be “sick” following a bender and have absolutely no understanding of the correlation between their lifestyle and illness.

When you slightly convince them that they aren’t taking care of themselves, they do the bare minimum.

They usually ignore the big problems, are overwhelmed with standard adult functioning and create little problems out of nothing.

They invented this likable, responsible, organized, thoughtful & funny image of who they want to portray.

Overtime, it becomes more difficult to maintain this facade and their true selves begin to emerge. It’s frustrating because you believe they have some good qualities and that is why you liked them…at first. Eventually you realize that it was all for show. It was only an image they have been creating, not the real person they are inside. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Usually they blame others constantly for their reactions and have a total lack of boundaries. They are unable to stop themselves from disclosing information you don’t want to know.

It’s as if they are growing in reverse and they keep regressing.

They act like a teenager, are selfish, have no empathy, and behave downright mean and nasty.

Eventually you get burnt out from caring and become complacent.

When you look up the actual definition of arrested development, it explains ALOT.

“Arrested development refers to a psychological or emotional state where an individual’s growth—specifically social, emotional, or intellectual maturation—stagnates, causing them to remain “stuck” at an earlier stage of development. Often triggered by trauma, neglect, or lack of guidance, it results in adults who look mature but act with child-like impulsivity, insecurity, or irresponsibility.”

Ironically, they are sometimes triggered when their children reach the age when their trauma, neglect, or abandonment began. So if a parent was exposed to something that arrested their own development at age ten; when their child reaches age 10, symptoms explode.

It is actually really sad when you begin to see the ignored, neglected and/or abused inner child inside of them; begging for attention.

All this drama they are creating is a subconscious distraction from the true feeling they are desperately attempting to avoid.

This is why they have to “keep spinning” their web of lies and manipulation. They are relentless, like a shark. They are internally exhausted from pretending and shit stirring.

You really cannot convince them no matter how hard you try. They will twist your words around and get defensive. They will be so harsh and cruel to you for offering advice.

Their justifications make zero sense.

Usually, a trauma bond forms between the abuser with this persons victims. They keep their “loved ones” addicted to the toxic cycles by reeling them in with love bombing, emotional stability then spitting them back out with intermittent cruelty. They retaliate in evil ways.

“Trauma bonding isn’t just emotional; it’s psychological. The brain’s chemistry is altered during these cycles of abuse and reconciliation. The release of stress hormones like cortisol during abusive episodes, followed by dopamine during reconciliation, creates a potent mix that can literally make the victim feel addicted to the abuser. “

Emotional stability may feel foreign, uncomfortable and boring. They most likely grew up with this type of family dynamic so they have induce chaos to feel “normal.”

Unfortunately, something awful and terrible has to occur for them to finally receive a wake up call.

Then they wonder why their kids are out of control and behave like complete savage, feral assholes as young adults.

By the time they receive their much deserved karma, it is usually TOO LATE. So much emotional turmoil & damage has been done and relationships are beyond repair.

However, I would like the consequences to happen a lot sooner?? Anyone else? We all make mistakes! As humans, we can’t always see our own stuff=triggers/self-medicating habits etc. immediately.

There has to be some sort of self-reflection and life re-evaluation eventually!

When does it end? How old do they have to be to finally realize it?

It seems like good, genuinely kind people who follow the law, a moral code and their core values seem to have to pay for mistakes immediately. It feels like those who consistently and repeatedly commit heartless deeds intentionally to hurt someone else or for personal gain; get away with it for an extremely long time. When they finally atone for the pain & the irreversible damage they caused, they are so old; you don’t even care anymore.

Therefore, I would like to make a formal request to KARMA in writing. I would like to demand of the universe to lead this person toward the direction of some kind of wake-up call, professional help, & a better lifestyle. I would like to mandate for this to occur this year, while they are young, not in 40 years when they are old and the rest of us are deceased.

I like to believe there are mostly genuinely good-hearted people in the world. Why can’t anyone who is truly despicable receive their consequences in a timely manner?

Like why did Jeffrey Epstein receive the gift of death? Why couldn’t he have to live in misery and humiliation by facing all his victims? Why couldn’t he live to bring down anyone else involved?

Grrrr. Makes me so angry.

I want justice!

He better come out of hiding if he’s alive!!

https://www.angliacounselling.co.uk/emotional-well-being/impact-of-arrested-development-on-relationships-and-self-esteem-in-adulthood/

https://frontier.care/blog/what-is-trauma-bonding-why-it-happens-and-how-to-heal

Just because it’s hilarious:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZThpNCBad/

2025 year from hell, Aging parents, Anxiety, Family disasters, Mental Health

Babysitting Blues

This was us…. my siblings and I at the beginning of 2025…

Fresh start, new year! We were discussing renting a house together during the summer. Things were looking good!

My adult kids are always out or doing their own thing in their room. Around March, I was starting to feel stir-crazy and erroneously said out loud that “I’m kind of bored”. Ideas of going back to school or looking for a new job crossed my mind. I decided that I need a new challenge…..

For the love of God, do not say that you are bored out loud (do not even think it!) Also, do not mention you need a challenge. The Universe is always listening….

The Universe waiting to pounce
on you

Soon after having that thought, my daughter’s senior year stuff exploded. We were spending money like crazy. Five days before graduation, my son informs me he needs help being moved out of his dorm that weekend.

Then, I injured myself and couldn’t walk.

My sister found out she needs a hip replacement.

In June, my baby sister had a different type of medical scare…

Meanwhile, our brother has a perpetual flow of weekly disasters that we assist in solving.

In July, my mom went from working full time and taking the train daily downtown …to a forced retirement at age 70. Her retirement was due to some medical issues and vision impairment from macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Somehow we got through the medical issues. We revamped her diet, got her on a meal, hydration & medication schedule etc. Unfortunately, we were very clueless on how to handle the sudden vision loss. This was a HUGE adjustment for her and for us.

She lost her independence overnight. All of her favorite things involve seeing.

We felt terrible for mom, but also frustrated because both eye conditions are exacerbated by untreated hypertension and diabetes. Mom took her medication on her terms, not the doctors. She watched her sugar intake but not carbohydrates. She put her job first. She couldn’t remember the last time she had an eye exam. Then states “it was before Covid.”

Therefore, both conditions were not managed. She developed something called metabolic encephalopathy. It caused her to talk incessantly, even in the bathroom alone. There was no filter.

My mom knows her way around her apartment well and claimed she could see certain things. It appeared to us that she could, but then she would do strange things; like pick up a diaper off the ground and ask “is this a hat?”

Some days she would get ready herself and look adorable, other days she would sleep all day and looked homeless when we arrived. Sometimes she would decide to go shopping alone without telling anyone. During one of her solo shopping excursions at CVS, she purchased a foundation that was 17 shades darker than her skin tone because it was on sale.

Mom decided to try this new foundation out at her great-granddaughters christening. She got a ride there from her grandson. When she walked into church, my sisters and I nearly knocked people over trying to get to her because we thought she fell and bruised her face…ummm no, it was just an excessive amount of burnt orange foundation.

Thankfully, people with babies have baby wipes so we scrubbed mom’s face, hands and neck clean in the tiny, church bathroom.

Crisis averted.

A few weeks later, Mom accompanied the grandkids to the pumpkin patch. Things were going along smoothly until my mom witnessed an dark-skinned toddler on a leash and innocently states “I didn’t know you could bring dogs here?”

The parent of the child on a leash overheard and went ballistic on my mom and then my baby sister. Thankfully, mom cannot hear so well either so she didn’t know what was going on.

At this point, we worked really hard at finding a caregiver during the day for my mom.

One evening in late October, my sister arrived at my mom’s and mom answered the door without a top on & wearing two different slippers. This is abnormal behavior for mom so she took her to the hospital.

Mom was sleeping but her enzyme levels were going up, indicating she was having a heart attack. They also discovered from her MRI that she had a stroke, called an embolic shower.

This caused a hilarious case of hospital delirium. She did not believe she was in the hospital. She would become furious when hospital staff reminded her she was.

Mom would state, “I swear, if one more person tells me I’m in the hospital, I’m gonna knock them out. I’ll kill em!” 🤣 (she’s a 110lb tiny lady)

The places she believed she was in varied, like a funeral home, her boyfriend’s basement that was decorated scary for Halloween, and camping.

We felt guilty for laughing, but what else can you do at this point? Cry and feel hopeless!?

So we decided to have fun with these hallucinations and roll with it. My brother asked her who she was going camping with?

Mom replied, “Oh ya know, the usual crew.”

Mom states: “I have never gone camping so I should go but I don’t want to. Russell is going.”

(Who is Russell?)

Mom then thought there was a little girl in her room dressed up in a Doritos costume and offered her some juice.

While she believed she was at the funeral home, she called me at 5am stating “I am really underdressed for this wake, can you pick me up. I am in New Lenox.”

Instead of reorienting her, I replied “so who died mom?”

Mom replies: “I don’t know, but I am trying to figure it out, I’m watching the slideshow now.”

She had to have a EEG and MRI. Whatever meds they gave mom, I want some. 🤣 She thought she was at a destination wedding in Maui and was telling us how beautiful it was.

Mom gradually shifted from the delirium to mania. This was exacerbated by caffeinated coffee. She would talk non-stop, so it would take her two hours to finish a meal.

Her 80 year-old boyfriend came to visit her and he was met with mood fluctuations of euphoria and anger. She began yelling at him for watching the Jayne Mansfield documentary without her. She then threw her blanket over her head and hid under there for a hour.

Her boyfriend knows better to keep his mouth shut when she’s angry.

After ten days, she was discharged to a rehab center.

I arrived the first morning to bring her clothes and my mom was whispering “this place is horrible and my roommate is a man! He’s huge with this deep voice. He would not shut up last night.”

What I imagined.

Then I meet her roommate who is of course, a female, dressed in many layers because goes out to smoke frequently. She informs us that mom is her 27th roommate and she’s seen it all.

I don’t know lady, you haven’t met my mom yet. She is little but she is fierce. Especially if you turn the light on while she’s sleeping.

She was fairly cooperative at the rehab center except mom states “the staff think I’m a troublemaker.” She debated about exercising and she was enraged when they interrupted her while watching The Drew Barrymore show.

She asked us and the staff everyday when she can go home.

She was discharged home after two weeks. The regression of your parents and the role reversal that is experienced is not something you can ever be prepared for until you go through it yourself.

Becoming her caregiver did feel like babysitting at times for us. We would end the evening family group text with “moms all tucked in wearing her pull-up, Jammie’s and slippers.”

Mom became more herself at home, except now she wanted to go back to her old habits. Not eating often enough, then eating too much, wanting to hydrate with coffee and Diet Coke. The debating and arguing began, about her wanting cereal, pasta and beef.

She still would sneak off on her own to Calabria Imports, even though one sister meal-prepped weekly food. We only found out because she left the receipt on the table. When confronted, mom states “Oh here comes the detective, investigating what I’m doing!”

This is where we went bezerk on mom.

Mom would reply:

My sisters and I on the phone:

We found two caregivers, one from the state and one we pay out-of-pocket. She was rude to them too, but they weren’t her daughters so they didn’t take it personally and just laughed at her. After meeting with the kidney doctor, the fear of going to dialysis or losing a limb got mom to surrender.

Our youngest sister reminded us that Mom is doing her best and it’s pretty cool she still wants to live alone with caregivers. She’s a courageous lady. Mom is grateful now for her caregivers and her family who is helping her. I think now, she has accepted her normal age limitations and changes. Mom finally believes she is loved.

P.S. Always put your health first! Taking care of yourself and going to annual appointments are mandatory. Exercise so you can function later in life! A Job is not an excuse to neglect yourself!

Unrelated honorable mentions: