My mother is a hypochondriac and has tantrums like a toddler

I find it hard to cope with her behaviour but I put up with it because I can’t bear the guilt trips. Annalisa Barbieri advises a reader

My mother is charming, bright and often very lovely. She’s also a neurotic mix of guilt-tripper, tantrum thrower and hypochondriac. Our family revolves around her moods and sicknesses. Her hypochondriac behaviour is escalating. It has always been an issue – my siblings and I had several operations each before we left home, some of which she now tells me she knew were unnecessary.

I know why she struggles and why she involves us. She was emotionally and sometimes physically neglected as a child, growing up in the middle of a large family, constantly ignored. I get that she’s stuck as that child – her tantrums make it clear that she’s less emotionally mature than my seven-year-old daughter.

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from Health & wellbeing | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1ODEPe6
via health