Help with my emotional mental state from your perspective please
Hi all. I truly appreciate everyone's feedback in all my posts.
I have been seeing a counselor about all my anxiety with being a stepmom -well lack of these days. Anyway the counselor seems to keep pushing me to push my husband to fix things but at the end of the day I dont want this stuff to be on my mind anymore. Some days its all I think about.
Sds 14&16 that i once truly truly loved as my own have now blamed me for isolating them from their father and that we (ours 2 year old and myself) want him all to ourselves and manipulate him to go along with it. Im done with it all.
I cant stand the constant back and forth of blocking unblocking and I truly truly can't get over this 5 page cps report from 2 years ago of the girls claiming harassment and abuse(went unfounded).
I just wish I could stop letting these worries consume me. I decided to never talk to bm again and keep my daughter out of it(they also say I have taken their sister from them) & finally just let it all go. Instead of trying to "fix".
I have this strange fear that if I dont somehow make amends that someday they will contact my DD and try to get her on their side or if I should pass away they will try to do anything to get close to her and make me the bad guy.
I know I know it may sound all dramatic but these kids have caused permanent damage between the in laws and now my marriage. Well they have tried with our marriage. Sd16 has made it clear many times that she will "be successful and dh will want her back". Shes clearly confused that they are not a married couple.
I know my thoughts may sound extreme but they are constantly there. My counselor doesn't get it. I hate that keeps pushing me to fix. Im going to look for a new counselor for sure.
Thoughts? Advice?
This is your husband's
This is your husband's problem to fix. He is the one that needs to do the grunt work with his children.. and he SHOULD make them a priority (like you and your child are also).. They are his minor children and he should be making every effort to be part of their lives as their father.. (not best friend.. not bank account). YOu can be supportive of this effort but you can't make it happen.
Every time you get accused.. the reply is "your father is his own man and makes his own decisions.. I can't force him to do anything.. he is free to have a relationship with all his children".
When they talk about your child in that way.. it's "when you decide you want to be part of your dad's family.. then you will be able to also forge a relationship with your younger sister. Right now, when you have unresolved issues and run hot and cold.. that isn't fair to her.. having people in and out of her life"
When they blame you.. they are old enough to also hear that the accusations made a couple of years ago were very hurtful because you have done nothing but try to do all you could for them.. and thought you had a good relationship with them and felt that the accusations were unfounded and a poor way to reward someone who has done so much for them over the years.. "
Thats funny you say that
Thats funny you say that because I recently told sd14 that going in and out of my dds life is confusing for a small kid and its my job as her mom to protect that. She wrote "I understand" and was syrpringly nice. Kept asking if there were other ways to get past the hurt and reconnect without doing counseling. Im not going to keep responding when your right, this should be my husband's job.
He will literally do nothing unless I encourage him to. Like he won't text or call them.its been like this since we met. I used to remind him to call snd check in since they were little. I made all the special plans I picked out all the birthday and Christmas gifts. I made it very easy for him. Now that that stopped its clear that "sm is making him push us away" when all along its been me pushing him!
I know ill always be the bad guy no matter what I do. Both girls have convinced the in laws im terrible too. I talked to my FIL for over an hour on how the girls told him how manipulative I am and how dh does everything I say.
FIL and MIL both recently moved 1000 miles away. They can keep their drama over there. They have tried to get too involved without even asking my DH whats been going on.
Strangely sd16 doesn't
Strangely sd16 doesn't remember all the nice things I've done for her. Id literally skip plans with all my friends and family to make plans for her /her friends. It was all about them for years. And I planned it all! What a waste of time.
You have been trained and
You have been trained and your brain has been hijacked by the drama and the chemistry involved. I'm sure your therapist could explain it to you. This is hard stuff to let go of but you must for your own sanity. Everything they say to you serves a purpose: their's, not yours. Everything is not black and white but for now it might have to be. As you begin to let go, you can decide how much more to do. Nothing is forever, remember that too. For now you need to untangle yourself from this drama, get your thinking straight, then you can revisit the situation with fresh eyes and see what's what. you can't predict the future, but you should prepare for it. Do you want to look back and see how you wasted precious years with your bios, not being the best mom you could have been , because of this drama? Estrangement sounds horrible but it's what happens when healthy firm boundaries are drawn by one and not respected by the other. I have found that the one drawing the boundaries uses "disengagement ". The one not respecting those boundaries and making a big stink about it uses the word "estrangement " and it sounds awful. But is is really?? ( I've been on both sides of this )
I think as well as therapy,
I think as well as therapy, you might need to trial a medication.
This is consuming and destroying you.
See your GP.
Are you a mental health
Are you a mental health professional? Not that I need to share this but I am on a medication. I was just trying to be open and see what others have parents thought because I cannot relas I can not relate to anybody in my life like this website does. I'm not going to see my GP thanks
Great...this is the first
Great...this is the first post I have seen from you where you have been firm and showed spirit.
You are capable of applying this firmness to this situation with your H and BM/SDs then. You CAN let this go. You did NOT cause this situation, it's NOT your problem to deal with, and I'd be inclined to let your H cope with it in his own way. Even if that means he has little to no contact.
Yes I do work in healthcare but for privacy reasons am obviously not going to be explicit about which field.
I too work in health care as
I too work in health care as a nurse. But id never recommend anyone get on medication unless I was a provider and knew my patient. I do have anxiety issues and I do acknowledge that. I do not enjoy dwelling on little jerks that have done nothing but cause issues in my life the last few years.
I appreciate everyone's response and its sincerely given me strength to say no more this is too much and my brain is thinking about this too much.
That's really good news.
That's really good news.
I hope you can have peace and enjoy your little family.
You deserve it.
Listen to your therapist.
They are correct. You do need to ride DH hard on fixing the issues with his failed family breeding results.
This will not end nor will your mind ever be off of it until you grab a handful of DH's testicular fortitude and continuously rub his nose in the stench of his failed family parenting failures with firm regular reminders to keep his X in her place.
Good luck.
Bluntly OP.. again.. your
Bluntly OP.. again.. your husband needs to fix this. and by "fix" I don't necessarily mean he will reconcile with his kids.. but he has to settle this issue with them.
He needs to communicate with his kids that HE is the one reluctant to engage with them due to past behavior
His WIFE has done nothing but push for him to have a relationship with them when they were younger.. it was only when she became more busy with a child that I, your father, dropped the ball. It was not at her urging.. it was my failure as your father.
There is also the matter of fact that these girls are technically still children/minors. They don't get to dictate terms.. and negotiate a settlement in their favor. If THEY want to be part of his family again.. THEY need to acknowledge the deep hurt their allegations made.. and make some level of explaination and apology for the stress and drama that it caused.
He needs to demand they put in the work with him to repair his relationship.
If he is too "butt hurt" to do that? He needs to tell them that.. basically he isn't in a place where he wants to forgive anyone.
You need to disengage from it all. When they contact you.. you nicely tell them to call their dad directly... that he has asked that they call him and not you. and then put it out of your mind. When people pressure you on the subject of his daughters.. you tell them that you really don't know what is going on because you leave it up to your husband to have his relationship with them.. they are welcome when he wants to have them there (knowing that he won't unless things are good). Disengage.. it's not your monkey.. not your circus...
I'm not sure if this will
I'm not sure if this will help but this is my perspective. Marrying someone with kids from a previous relationship isn't good for anyone's emotional and mental well being. You are with someone who expects you to put them and their kids first when they put you second or third in their priorities at best. This is not good for anyone's self worth. It is a one sided relationship and it has to feel very lonely. On top of that your life stresses are amplified. People who have kids are more likely to have more severe financial difficulties and close ties to people you wouldn't normally choose to have in your life regularly (exes, in laws, etc.), not to mention their lack of free time and health issues such as sleep deprivation, depression, etc. The question is do you really want this additional stress in your life and for what? Life is hard enough. Their kids will never love you like they love their parents. Society will never acknowledge you like they do the kids parents. Your partner will never get it or acknowledge it. It is not a good place to be. Love yourself.
Thank u for saying all this.
Thank u for saying all this. I've gotten to the point where my anxiety is so bad that I can't even breathe. One time I ended up in the hospital because my chest hurt so bad I didn't know what was wrong with me. I cant handle the constant fighting or back and forth nonsense. I've debated on leaving many times but that wouldn't solve step daughter issues. Im so glad my dh stands by me or I would have left a long time ago.
Leaving would solve the SD issues.
SD would no longer be your SD.
End of problem.
Oh she would love that too
Oh she would love that too much. Divorce i mean. Shes said it many times. Im happy with my dh and so happy he stands by my side. Its only been a week or so but thanks to all of u my thinking and attitude has changed. Sincerely, thank you
No one truly gets it unless you have been a step...