Immediate support
Immediate support

Relationship and family issues

Anything to do with managing relationships and family, including parenting, separation, loneliness, divorce, family and friendships.

Start a discussion

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Jump to
Start a discussion

Pinned discussions

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.

All discussions

Start a discussion

ImplodedSoul Unappreciated impacts
  • replies: 6

She came home from a trip, and the next night told me she hadn't loved me for 2 years and was leaving that night. The kids are to stay with me. 3 days later she had a boyfriend. I week later she had our young children at his house. I said I did not w... View more

She came home from a trip, and the next night told me she hadn't loved me for 2 years and was leaving that night. The kids are to stay with me. 3 days later she had a boyfriend. I week later she had our young children at his house. I said I did not want them near him for the moment. We have been trying to communicate but she is resistant, although sends very mixed messages. We agreed that the kids could see him for short periods (15-20 minutes, no family outings, he's not to stay the night) every now and then. Last night he was with them for 4+ hours. I broke, in my mind she has lied about the agreement after acknowledging it that day and I wanted my girls safe so I went there to get them. A dumb move but she is ignoring my feelings all together, even when I've been trying to be there if she needs support. I needed to tell her that. She didn't understand. The kids ended up staying. I love her, I want her back. Even though I've likely destroyed any chance. This is but a part of the story, but it's eating at me. Why couldn't she just wait a little to introduce him. Saying good night to our kids, they could only talk about playing with him. She was meant to be spending time with them! Lost and broken now. No one to talk to, nowhere to go. She and the kids are my life.

Ardenrose Someone hear me..
  • replies: 10

Hello everyone, It would mean a lot to get a response but I'm writing to get all these feelings off my chest... What is worse than feeling worthless and not loved at all? My boyfriend and I have been dating for 4 years now and have been through a lot... View more

Hello everyone, It would mean a lot to get a response but I'm writing to get all these feelings off my chest... What is worse than feeling worthless and not loved at all? My boyfriend and I have been dating for 4 years now and have been through a lot but it saddens me how I still feel unrecognized and not worth it at all. Sometimes, I dont know anymore who to hate. Is it me, for being so sensitive and emotional? That I give way too much for him? Is it me that I always want him around. That the thought of losing him scares me.. It hurts me so much that I cannot be honest with him at all without being judge or him attacking me with his own words. So I try, I try to live with those "short-happy moments" because thats when I'm happy. And I would rather that than him getting angry at me and leaving me. I do know he loves me, but only in certain levels. Only when i'm okay. When its easy to love me. when its convinient for him.. Yet, I still choose to stay because I am hoping, hoping he would one day see how Ive been there through it all. That i never left. My anxiety is getting worse.. My depression is slowly coming back. Im not sure how long I can hold it all together and convince myself that it is going to be okay.. soon.. My heart is crying. I want to rest for months. I want to sleep for months maybe he would then miss me and see my worth. Im extremely tired.

Ms_Weeza Enjoy your life and loved ones.
  • replies: 4

Enjoy your life and loved ones. ❣ Some people don't appreciate what they have until it's gone or their life is altered in some way. Apart from my own life alterations and voids, I am reminded everyday how precious people are in our lives. Some more t... View more

Enjoy your life and loved ones. ❣ Some people don't appreciate what they have until it's gone or their life is altered in some way. Apart from my own life alterations and voids, I am reminded everyday how precious people are in our lives. Some more then others because some people treat family and friends like objects. Throw away objects. Sometimes the only protection from hurt we have is to walk away from those toxic people. But when I see posts of loved ones dying, in pain or dealing with their own voids from the past it makes me think, what the hell is wrong with these insensitive, materialistic jerks? We can't always repair the rifts in our families or friendships, but those that are aware of how precious life is....hold those loved ones close to you. Time is limited. For some more then others. My heart sympathises with those that have lost loved ones permanently. And for those that have tossed others aside like trash I would love to smack upside your head, but it won't do any good. You won't know until your heart is ripped from you how it feels. I shed tears everyday for my voids. I shed tears for others. But for those insensitive materialistic toxic jerks, I do not. Everyday that you allow that void open because of your pride, shows how small and petty you are. After this rant, I shall release your negative vibes to the universe, may you never hurt anyone I care about ever again and one day, may your actions haunt you in your sleep. Everyone else, hold your precious love in your heart and share with those deserving. Keep your loved ones close and your circle in trust, hope and faith. May the future be better for those deserving or in need. Love, light and pixie dust sprinkled on your rainbows. Celebrate love and laughter. Make everyday count. ❣

Solique Supporting a Loved One with Addiction
  • replies: 1

I don’t know where to begin — the beginning would be appropriate, but I only have 2,500 words (less than now) to tell my story; to tell my story from the very beginning would be next to impossible, so I’ll tell my story the best I can. July 22, 2017 ... View more

I don’t know where to begin — the beginning would be appropriate, but I only have 2,500 words (less than now) to tell my story; to tell my story from the very beginning would be next to impossible, so I’ll tell my story the best I can. July 22, 2017 my life changed. My partner was assaulted. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and a seizure while in hospital for 7 days. A week or two after he was discharged from hospital, his father died unexpectedly. While overcoming his trauma from the assault, he now had to overcome grief, trauma, depression and anxiety due to the death of his father. On Christmas Eve of last year, my partner had a self-induced medical emergency. He was unresponsive but thankfully he pulled through. But his mental health has worsened since. (His GP and Psychiatric team have restricted medication from him due to this) He does see a Psychologist and his local GP every week to every two weeks—he has good support from his mum, as well as myself. Due to his mental illnesses, he has engaged in a lot of self-destructive behaviours such as gambling, abusing prescription medication (as mentioned earlier, he is not allowed to be prescribed them so he buys them “from the street”) and he cheated on me too. Prior to the 22nd of July my partner would not engage in any of these behaviours. He was loyal to me and to himself. He was intelligent, caring and loving. He’s not who he is now. Basically, I don’t know what to do anymore. We did separate for a week once, where I stayed at my parents, but we worked on our relationship. Last night, I found out he was still trying to buy drugs and I was so angry, I had to walk away and this time I thought it was the end. We discussed it again today and he said he wants to get help and he admits his addiction to prescription medication. And he wants me to support him too. How can I support him when I find it hard to trust him? I want to be there for him, and I will, but I need advice on what to do next. How to help someone with an addiction and how to teach myself into thinking that he’s not doing it to hurt me—he’s doing it because he is in pain. I should add, I do also see a Psychologist and will be seeing a Psychiatrist for an assessment for potentially having Borderline Personality Disorder. Any advice and support port would be appreciated—I’d even love to read stories of similiar situations.

Richmond101 Confused in a new relationship
  • replies: 3

I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend for 6 weeks now and have been seeing her for around 3 months but i dont have strong feelings towards her. We are both 20. She makes me happy when im with her and i love spending time with her but i jus... View more

I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend for 6 weeks now and have been seeing her for around 3 months but i dont have strong feelings towards her. We are both 20. She makes me happy when im with her and i love spending time with her but i just dont have the strong feelings like i have experienced in past relationships. Do these feelings take time to develop? because in the past they have developed quickly but obviously those relationships didnt work out. my last relationship wasn't a long one but i did get screwed over a few times but that was nearly 2 years ago now. I dont find her attractive all the time and when i first met her i didn't find her overly attractive. I found her to rather just be a genuine good person with heaps of qualities that i like. we get along really well and we make each other happy. I just dont have that spark that i have felt in the past when you just have that chemistry. Im worried that if i dont have that then the relationship wont work out. I feel comfortable around her though and that i can be myself. I have had allot of ocd the past year and am trying to recover from some very bad periods and still experience high amounts of anxiety so im not sure if that has an effect. I get days where im doubting everything and just feel guilty because i feel like ill just hurt her because i know her feelings are stronger then mine. But i dont just want to quit on her because we get along so well and i like what we have. she is important to me and makes my life better i feel. I have communicated to her that i get these doubts and my feels arnt super strong. I Just dont want to hurt her. Please help!!

Deemar Depressed husband
  • replies: 2

My husband lost his sister to cancer 6 months. One prior to his sister passing, I miscarried at 6 weeks. We've always had ups and downs. My husband has always suffered depression before our 2 years of marriage and 7 year relationship. He had self est... View more

My husband lost his sister to cancer 6 months. One prior to his sister passing, I miscarried at 6 weeks. We've always had ups and downs. My husband has always suffered depression before our 2 years of marriage and 7 year relationship. He had self esteem issues and hard on himself. We met at work and he is my first relationship. I too suffer from anxiety and it was hard for me to meet people. I found comfort with him as he is a really nice person and I thought we could move past his depression and my anxiety and make our relationship work. I had to work hard in our marriage and took on the responsibilities of setting up our finances and admin, our home and routine. I wasn't close to his immediate family and often felt they didn't approve of me. I also felt his parents enabled his lack of responsibility and being on top of things as they babied him too much. I felt I had to train him to be the husband I needed. In the process of doing this my husband said I neglected him and his feelings. I never spoke to him about his depression and when his sister passed he feels I haven't supported him enough. He blames me for everything, tells me I've done nothing to help him, he yells at me and swears at me when I do something to upset me, he throws things in frustration and threatens to leave if I don't change. We are currently separated because I couldn't cope with his abuse and blame. He tells me that each day I'm away the worse it gets. I've tried explaining how his behaviour hurts me but he tells me I keep neglecting his hurt and emphasise only my own. We get no where. I don't know what to do. I feel guilty for leaving him yet it's for me to go back to him constantly blaming me. I've tried explaining this to him but there is no reasoning. He told me the other day he is going to resign from his job. I asked him how he planned on paying the mortgage and he got mad at me as my focus should have been on his depression nor the mortgage. Any advise of what to do would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Bullant Lost, Confused, Is it supposed to be this hard
  • replies: 1

Hello I am new to this, please forgive me if I rant. Don’t really know where to start. I was diagnosed with depression many years ago. I have been on medication for about 2 - 3 years. I feel the medication does help, but I still lapse into the dark p... View more

Hello I am new to this, please forgive me if I rant. Don’t really know where to start. I was diagnosed with depression many years ago. I have been on medication for about 2 - 3 years. I feel the medication does help, but I still lapse into the dark place from time to time and struggle to pull myself out of it. 7 months ago, I had to take a job away from home and only spend 3 days with family out of 21. At the start of the job I lost my father to illness in the first week and became very depressed. I felt in the last 4 months I had come good and things were going ok. On my last break at home, some thing happened and I snapped and lost my cool with my 15 year old daughter, I humiliated her in front of her boyfriend and family. I knew when I was yelling at her that I was doing the wrong think but kept going. I have never before yelled at her like this, she is my princess. I immediately went to that dark place and could not pull myself out. Had arduement with wife, to be told she has had enough and they all felt I didn’t like coming home to them. We are now looking to go our separate ways and it’s breaking my heart. I think I am getting through ok, and then told by the ones I love nothings changed. I love my wife dearly, she is my sole mate, but I have put her through hell for many years and my heart tells me I should let her go because I am hurting her to much. I feel very alone and lost, I have no one to talk to. I am sick of feeling this way, I have made many mistakes in my life and still paying for them. The thought of loosing my family is to much to bear. Is life supposed to be this hard!!!! I’m over it.

Fred22 Separated for 4 years and it still hurts
  • replies: 6

Hi I’ve posted elsewhere about starting a new job and getting through that and out of the blue all these really heavy emotions and feelings about my wife and my daughter came flooding out. it hurts so much and I thought I was controlling it over the ... View more

Hi I’ve posted elsewhere about starting a new job and getting through that and out of the blue all these really heavy emotions and feelings about my wife and my daughter came flooding out. it hurts so much and I thought I was controlling it over the years but with all this happening it just came out snd is crushing me - I want them back in my life / but they won’t snd I am so alone, no friends, no relationships, no life - very miserable i have no idea how to make friends, form relationships or to ever trust anyone again - has anybody got any advice please?

Cheesetoastie Marriage break up
  • replies: 7

Hi everyone, Pretty new here. Recently my wife and I have split up after a 8 yr long relationship. I’m struggling a little bit in day to day life to get through things and my concentration has gone downhill a fair bit. The hardest bit is trying to sl... View more

Hi everyone, Pretty new here. Recently my wife and I have split up after a 8 yr long relationship. I’m struggling a little bit in day to day life to get through things and my concentration has gone downhill a fair bit. The hardest bit is trying to sleep at night. Super difficult at the moment, and I’ve never had problems sleeping before. Through our relationship I helped her move past some pretty horrific childhood abuse and now she’s moved through that, she said she needs to be on her own to learn to live independently. I can understand this, but it still makes me feel a used and disregarded. I’ve always been the emotional and financial support and has cost me a huge amount of time, energy, friends and experiences. Im doing regular exercise, not drinking excessively and still remaining social and working which I’ve been managing relatively well considering the circumstances. Sleep is super hard though and this is making the other areas in my life much more difficult to manage. Not sure what I’m expecting from this thread. Maybe just some people to talk to or someone going through something similar. No idea. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting used to sleeping solo again?

Bagsi Confused about my relationship
  • replies: 1

Don’t know if this is right but here goes. I’m 44 and have been in the same relationship for 28 Years. I don’t know if I love my husband anymore. I know he is not nice to anyone and I hate it. He can be very judgemental. I feel like I have to tread a... View more

Don’t know if this is right but here goes. I’m 44 and have been in the same relationship for 28 Years. I don’t know if I love my husband anymore. I know he is not nice to anyone and I hate it. He can be very judgemental. I feel like I have to tread around on egg shells just to keep the peace at home. My children are 21 and 18. They hate the way they are spoken to and how I am treated. I don’t know what is normal any longer I feel like going away and never being found. It’s too hard