Relationship and family issues

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Chris_B PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: 3 important tips to get the most out of this section
  • replies: 0

Hi everyone, The Relationships & Family Issues section is one of the busiest here on our forums. It's also one of the areas where we find members can get themselves into trouble! Before posting here, take a deep breath and be mindful of the following... View more

Hi everyone, The Relationships & Family Issues section is one of the busiest here on our forums. It's also one of the areas where we find members can get themselves into trouble! Before posting here, take a deep breath and be mindful of the following 3 tips: 1. Do you really want to share this with the world? This is a public forum. Are you thinking of posting something that could identify you to a friend or family member? Once you've posted, you can't delete what you've written and we don't take posts down from here unless they've broken one of our community rules. This is because our members spend a lot of time composing replies, and there is a much wider audience that gets a lot out of reading what has been written. It's not fair to ask the community for support, then ask to have it removed once you've read it so others can't also benefit. Use discretion when posting here - think about the level of detail you are sharing, and think also about who might know you are posting here. Also, please keep it clean: this is an all ages forum and explicit discussions about sexual problems are not permitted. Threads and posts of this nature will be removed and your account placed on a moderation hold. 2. What do you want to get out of posting here? Relationship and family issues are stressful. Members sometimes post here seeking advice about a relationship that has broken down, but find themselves getting upset when they don't agree with the response they get. This is a peer support forum, meaning we are not mental health professionals. We are people of all ages and backgrounds, with a wide range of life experiences. While we aim for our discussions to be conducted respectfully, people here will respond with the truth as they see it, from their own experiences and perspectives. We are not here to take sides. Offence is almost never intentional, but it can be sometimes taken. The advice you will see here is not intended to be a substitute for professional counselling. 3. What other support do you have? Most people posting on our forums (about any issue) use this space as a supplement to other supports. This forum is not and cannot be a substitute for offline supports, but it is often a good place to start the ball rolling and find the courage for seeking help. If you are relying solely on an internet forum to resolve your relationship or family issues, you are likely to be disappointed. Check out the Healthy Homes section of our Healthy Families website for further information and resources.

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sleepyfox I think I'll be alone forever
  • replies: 2

Hi folks! First time posting here, looking for some people who have maybe been through a similar situation as me and could offer some advice. I'm in my early to mid 20s and have never been in a relationship. I have only ever kissed one guy who I met ... View more

Hi folks! First time posting here, looking for some people who have maybe been through a similar situation as me and could offer some advice. I'm in my early to mid 20s and have never been in a relationship. I have only ever kissed one guy who I met at a festival and have never seen since. I'm terrified that im going to be alone my whole life because I dont know how to let my guard down and actually be vulnerable enough to be with someone. I worry that because I didnt experience dating/love as a teen that if I get into a relationship now with an older guy he won't understand and will think that im juvenile because I've never dated anyone before and never had sex. Theres a guy I like who is a few years older than me and I cant tell if he likes me back. I've known him for years through work so I dont know how to make the transition of friend to more than friends, and feel really awkward about embarrassing myself if he doesn't like me back. There's another guy I work with who I think is interested in me but I cant stop thinking about the first guy. I've never been the type to get hung up on someone before but I cant stop thinking about him. I'm just afraid that im broken and will never be able to find love. Anyone have any advice? I know the usual 'everyone goes at their own pace deal, just wondering if anyone else was in the same situation as me and managed to have a relationship

Elle2721 Overwhelmed working Mum of 2.
  • replies: 2

Hi all, feeling low, down and can't sleep. Cry from all the feelings of being overwhelmed. My girl started kindy and is struggling, my baby boy keeps me awake at night, and I just started full time work and wondering why I did this to myself. Working... View more

Hi all, feeling low, down and can't sleep. Cry from all the feelings of being overwhelmed. My girl started kindy and is struggling, my baby boy keeps me awake at night, and I just started full time work and wondering why I did this to myself. Working full time and not being there for my kids and my mental health is getting scary.

Danny123 Depressed Partner
  • replies: 1

Hi all,I just am so worried about my partner (she asked for time and space so I guess you can say we are taking a break). I love her so much and am doing everything I can to help (to the best of my ability anyway). She said she is so consumed with ho... View more

Hi all,I just am so worried about my partner (she asked for time and space so I guess you can say we are taking a break). I love her so much and am doing everything I can to help (to the best of my ability anyway). She said she is so consumed with hopelessness and emptiness. We have 2 kids and considering her circumstances, is doing a great job with them ( I share the load and stay home every second weekend and a couple of nights a week, while she has her time away from home), we don’t live together at the moment. I guess I am so scared of losing her, she is seeing a psych and he changed her meds 3 weeks ago. We have been together 14 years, and I am finding that she will message me out of the blue saying I want you to know I really miss you, and when I see her she asks for a hug and would give me a kiss, she would sometimes grab my hand and kiss it...what do I need to do? I can’t loose her, I don’t want to loose her, she says right now she is so messed up, she doesn’t know what she wants or is even thinking, I worry so much that she is including us in that thought? It first happened about 8 weeks ago that she said we need time out from each other, first she said she needs to find herself again and what she loves, she said the last 1.5 years in our relationship has been hard, which I know we put up walls and COVID didn’t help, home schooling, me being home 24/7 (had to work from home), she lost her dad 2 weeks before lockdown... its only been the last 4 weeks however, that she has said she is depressed... I give her her space, and I find it so hard not to message her to tell her I love her and I am here, but I don’t want to push her away... she says she wants her family back, but then I loose hope when she says “ I don’t want to see anyone, I don’t even want to speak to people (other than her psych) she said “ I can’t believe I am even talking to you right now.... is this normal?? What do I need to do to make sure we get through this, and I say US because I will NOT allow her to push me away and I am with her the whole way (although she says I deserve so much better), to me she is perfect... Does she really miss me even though she rarely says it... I told her I loved her the other night and I said, I don’t expect you to say it back right now, but she did, she said I do love you too... but today, just seems she has gone backwards a little. Any advice will help - thank you all for reading

kay_la Help Me, Help My Mum.
  • replies: 1

Im in desperate need of help. Im a 20 year old who studies at uni part-time and works full-time, my mother lives 3 hours away so i barely have time to visit her. she is currently looking after her 10 year old daughter but is struggling as she has jus... View more

Im in desperate need of help. Im a 20 year old who studies at uni part-time and works full-time, my mother lives 3 hours away so i barely have time to visit her. she is currently looking after her 10 year old daughter but is struggling as she has just gotten out of a serious relationship. She has struggled for many years and has relied on men for her happiness. She was working a stable job and was healthy for a while after they broke up but not she is drinking LARGE amounts of alcohol, to the point that all she does is drink and sleep, she has lost a lot of weight because of it. I have tried to convince her to get help however, she has always denied that she needs help. She has been admitted to mental health wards multiple times in the past yet she manages to find her way out with lies. I'm really worried about her because it has come to the point where my 10 year old sister has run away to her dads at 10pm on a school night because of how she acts when she is drunk. She has crashed the car many times and has been drink driving her whole life, i really want to get her help before its too late but anything I say or do wont convince her.

Melly997 How to deal with being abandoned
  • replies: 47

My husband moved out 4 months ago but it t was only supposed to be for a few days to clear his head. He said he felt the world closing in on him. He said he was getting angry quickly & then felt guilty about his reaction. For 2 weeks he stayed in tou... View more

My husband moved out 4 months ago but it t was only supposed to be for a few days to clear his head. He said he felt the world closing in on him. He said he was getting angry quickly & then felt guilty about his reaction. For 2 weeks he stayed in touch & said we'd be fine but over the next 4 weeks his contact stopped. No calls, no visits, no messages, nothing. I tried to see him before he caught the bus but when I did he was always moody. Then I got a text saying he was giving up (which meant our marriage) because he was better on his own. Just like that. No effort, no discussion, nothing. It ripped my heart out. I sent him emails & texts begging to come home, to talk, telling him I'd support him through whatever he was going through - nothing. After 10 weeks I asked him what did he want me to do with his things. He said to put them in one place & he'd get them. He also said he appreciated the words & sentiments but kept contact sparse until he felt comfortable being himself. Last week he came & got all his things, said he wasn't coming back, was happier & better on his own & it was too late to fix our marriage because he felt nothing. I have suspected all along that he might be suffering depression but never did I think this would happen. Never. During the first 2 weeks I bought tickets to a concert he wanted to see. I made sure he still got one (which turned out to be the day before he got his things) & was encouraged because it only took him 30 mins to pick it up after my text. I hoped he would go. However last night he didn't show & it hit me like a ton of bricks. He doesn't want anything to do with me. This man I love has basically abandoned me & I am at a loss as to why his feelings went from love to nothing in only 4 months. I sent a message to one of his work mates yesterday asking him to keep an eye on him & if he agreed with me about depression to point him the direction of getting help. I also want to help him but he's physically & emotionally unavailable to me. I want to know why does someone push their loved ones away, shut them out so completely & end all contact? Do they ever return? How do I deal with the pain without blaming him when it might be depression & outside his control? Do I keep trying to make contact or leave him alone? Am I just trying to justify the end of my marriage by 'diagnosing' it as depression because I have nothing else to go on? I need answers because I am at a loss & feel helpless.

EmptyMind Girlfriend left me to experience new relationships and work on herself.
  • replies: 3

Hello, I am currently going through very tough times. I've been dating my first girlfriend for a year and about 4-6 months, and she left me two days ago. I never felt so lost and I feel like everything I do has her imprinted on it. I drove to her hou... View more

Hello, I am currently going through very tough times. I've been dating my first girlfriend for a year and about 4-6 months, and she left me two days ago. I never felt so lost and I feel like everything I do has her imprinted on it. I drove to her house the day before and slept there, we had fun, but in the morning, she told me "I don't see you the same as I used to". After a very full of crying conversation, she said that she needed to find what she wanted and that she wanted to experience new things and not be tied to a committed relationship while being still young. One example of this is when she went to a party and everyone but herself were making out, which I think was a good thing commitment wise but she did not see it the same way. I understand her view point, but the problem is that herself seems confused about her wants and needs. She still loves me. A major problem that leads to an added confusion is that she wants to call it a break, but isn't sure whether she'll come back or not. I honestly don't think she would, if her goal is to go out and have new sexual experiences. This Weekend (as this post comes out tomorrow), she has a friend meet up which very likely will have alcohol, so in my mind, I can only imagine that she will start her new experiences then (which she missed out on her party last time). I am confused, lost, empty, I don't want to get out of bed, don't want to go to work. I love to have someone to text after a long day and tell them about how work was and that I love her and stuff like this. I love her. I only wish I can go back in time and try to make it even better. We had the nearest (but not) to a perfect relationship that I could've had. The only exception being sexually but I'll spare details. I do not want her gone, and I want her with me. I'm not the most attractive guy that people would know while she is very attractive. She's also unique in the way that she is playful and yet can be serious, and I seriously feel like no one will have the type of personality like she does. I want her with me. It's hard as a first IRL breakup, and I feel like doing nothing, just sit on my bed. I lost appetite (which is normal usually after serious breakups), I want to end it all but I won't. She wants to stay close friends, but I have no idea if it will ever work. The one thing we shared which is intimacy is gone, and I can't talk to her about the same things anymore. Any tips to get better would be appreciated. Thanks. PS: 17M -18F

Anzee Unsure
  • replies: 76

Hi I’ve been aware that my partner has a temper for most of our relationship and there was a time that he was really bad and our eldest was only little and I left him but he saw a dr (once) said he was better and was really good for a few months BUT ... View more

Hi I’ve been aware that my partner has a temper for most of our relationship and there was a time that he was really bad and our eldest was only little and I left him but he saw a dr (once) said he was better and was really good for a few months BUT every time he’s stressed out for any reason he takes it all out on us and I have tried talking to him calmly and I recently had to face some memories of childhood trauma I went through after having a trigger and it really messed me around emotionally, I have a psychologist and she was very encouraging and supportive but my partner just refused to take on some extra responsibilities to help me get through this tough time and he was constantly yelling at me in front of the kids because he was getting frustrated I wasn’t able to function at the same level I had been before or he’s yelling at the kids for something very small or sometimes even just for being too loud or for crying so the kids attached themselves to me once again and I ended up telling my psychologist I couldn’t go through with my referral for the appropriate trauma treatment we had spent weeks getting my courage up to attend but once I knew my kids weren’t feeling happy and safe without my full support and attention I couldn’t go through with it. Anyways my question is about his temper around and to the kids, so at the moment he loses his temper at least once a day and swears a lot when he’s yelling and using profanity but not swearing at them, is this behaviour ok? am I just overthinking/ exaggerating the situation? He has said countless times over the years he is going to change and stop yelling but as of yet he has not been successful for more than a few months. Ive just put too much thought into it and now have myself worried that his reactions to something as simple as one of them feeling upset and crying and him yelling at them to stop crying and stop being such a sook is damaging them and causing mental issues down the track. The last thing I want is to let anything jeopardise their health and happiness but I’m not sure if I’m just overthinking and overreacting.

dl23 Marriage breakup + kids
  • replies: 927

Hi So my wife and I met in high school and have been together for 24 years, married for 14 years. Over the past 8 years or so (after second child, now was born, we have had some ups and downs. I would just sometimes have a go at her about random stuf... View more

Hi So my wife and I met in high school and have been together for 24 years, married for 14 years. Over the past 8 years or so (after second child, now was born, we have had some ups and downs. I would just sometimes have a go at her about random stuff; money, clothes or food. Then she would try and talk to me and I was too pigheaded and wouldn't really listen. Now the time has come where she has had enough and wants to sell our new and amazing house, separate into smaller houses/units and rent. We share the custody of our two kids. I am really scared about telling the kids and don't think I can be there for that process. They will be devastated. I have been trying to say sorry to my wife via emails, text, chatting, video montages and poems but she tells me to stop and that she doesn't love me anymore. She said as I keep hassling her about getting back together, she doesn't even like me and the thought of talking to me or seeing me makes her physically ill. She also said that because I am making her angry, the shared custody will be so much harder. I have been trying to show her over the past few weeks the new me. I have been calm, positive (as best I can in this situation) and more composed. I would sometimes shout at the kids for being silly but now I use a calm voice always (even when they test my patience). I haven't been sleeping much and not eating hardly at all for 5 days (lost 4.5kg), due to being nauseous and anxious. We have just communicated over email and she doesn't even want me to talk to her anymore or make dinner or hot drinks. I responded with I would like to keep doing it. I told her I still love her and apologise a lot for making her angry, when that is not my intention. I am really scared of not being with her anymore and not living her. I love her so much, even when she verbally attacks me and says she doesn't love me anymore. I can't rely on my parents as they are away and my wife and my parents never really got along. They kind of caused a lot of the tension and some of the reasons we fought. How am I going to get through this?

Sarges Marriage over
  • replies: 3

My husband and I have just recently decided it's not working anymore we have 2boys 9 and 10 we are trying to work out the best way to do this we got our house valued and have agreed to half the property and our savings but now my husband has had a ch... View more

My husband and I have just recently decided it's not working anymore we have 2boys 9 and 10 we are trying to work out the best way to do this we got our house valued and have agreed to half the property and our savings but now my husband has had a change of heart for finicial reasons only and keeps telling me I will live in poverty and he doesn't want that for the children but living in a loveless relationship is killing me any advice

anonymoussalamander My sister had a huge health problem and now I don't want to speak to her or think about it at all
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trigger warnings for mentions of someone trying to take their own life, cancer, surgery, etc. A few years ago my sister had a very bad health problem which could be fixed with surgery, but it caused huge behavioural changes and multiple suicide attem... View more

trigger warnings for mentions of someone trying to take their own life, cancer, surgery, etc. A few years ago my sister had a very bad health problem which could be fixed with surgery, but it caused huge behavioural changes and multiple suicide attempts, and I was her primary carer. I was seventeen at the time and I often thought 'if she needs care on a full-time basis after surgery I would rather be dead' (not in a suicidal way, in a 'i will move to Peru and start a new life and pretend i never knew these people' way). I wasn't the only one who could offer care, but I was the only one she 'trusted', so I would be woken at 3am with phonecalls from the police, or my suicidal sister, or the hospital asking me to come to pick her up. One day we were talking about things and she said she'd once tried to speak to me about her mental health problems and "you just sat there and said you didn't have time right now, so I decided you didn't care", and then she said that "my therapist says you don't seem very supportive". And I think about that almost every day actually, it sort of eats at me. It was a very stressful time. Anyway, she has had the surgery since then and has had some personality changes (it caused some mild brain damage), but is mostly (mostly) back to being independent. She no longer needs me to care for her, though she is often very tired after focusing for too long or doing too many things. And she acts like I'm about to bite her head off whenever she speaks to me, which obviously makes me feel terrible. And now when someone talks about a character from a TV show or whatever who has the same illness my sister had I feel bad & get almost like... annoyed? It hurts. And my sister will sometimes just mention it in casual conversation, "before my [illness]" or "after my [illness]" and it should be her right to talk about things that affect her like that but it makes me feel awful every time. Anything that is a symptom of having had it makes me feel bad, and everything that reminds me she had it makes me feel bad, even her being tired after focusing for a while makes me feel Bad. i *hate* it. and it's really straining my relationship with her and usually I'd just talk to her "using my words" about this, I'm comfortable and confident communicating, but it doesn't feel like I'm "allowed" to feel this way in my family dynamic. i don't know what to do about it, I guess. Apologies for length. I'm mostly venting.