Forgetting and forgiving. This is a difficult one to carry through and I don’t believe I will.
I’m in a situation at present, where a relative is unwell and several of the long-lost family members must group together. One of these family members has not been in contact with my hubby and me for over 10 years; it was his preference, he discarded me as part of the family when I first became extremely depressed and hospitalized. My only crime was to have a mental illness, and I consider this didn’t sit very well with him; possibly an humiliation or something of that nature. At Christmastime, cards were sent to us; my husband’s name appearing, but mine was excluded. I’ve tried to figure out precisely what he was trying to say, but even now I’m scratching my head over that one. Mental illness stigma at its finest.
He has phoned our house a couple of times during the past two weeks and I have been fortunate enough not to be the one who answered. There will come a time though and I will just pass the phone to my husband and not get into a phone altercation. There will also come a time when we may have to meet face to face; suppose I will just have to deal with that when the time arises.
Sad isn’t it.
Written by: Me
Filed under: depression, family, health, mental illness, personal, stigma in mental illness, writing
