My mother and I have always been extremely close. I tell her everything and she is one of my biggest supporters in life. I still live with her.

But when it comes to productivity and motivation, we could not be more different.

I am chronically ill, and my symptoms include both extreme fatigue and pain, which makes it difficult to complete even small tasks around the house. Additionally, I am a student full-time, and work part-time when I am able to (childcare). My schedule is not particularly packed, but as I am unwell for a significant portion of my time, a lot of it is taken up by sleep or rest. Especially during flare-ups, though, it is difficult for me to complete chores, such as washing dishes or laundry, vaccuuming, etc. It is difficult for me to even shower at times, as even just standing for extended periods is exhausting.

My mother doesn’t seem to understand this. She works full-time, and on weekends does grocery shopping and things around the house. Because I am unable to do these things without asisstance, she often accuses me of being lazy, or trying to leech off of her.

I should mention that my mother was ill for an extended period of time during my childhood, and worked part-time through that. She is recovered now, but it’s possible that that experience changed her outlook.

How can I get her to understand that it is difficult for me to complete small tasks without help? I don’t enjoy feeling this way, feeling useless and unable to support myself, and her behavior only makes me feel worse.

TL;DR- I am chronically ill, which makes some tasks exhausting or impossible. My mother sometimes accuses me of being lazy because of my condition. How can I explain to her that I’m not unproductive because I want to be— how can I make her understand?

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