Parenting is a difficult job. But what happens when the tables are turned and you feel like you’re parenting your aging mother or father? While we love our parents, feelings of frustration, anger, guilt, and helplessness can creep in for the adult child, especially when the aging parent’s physical or mental functioning has declined.
These feelings combined with processing old emotional baggage and potentially being triggered while interacting with them can result in a perfect storm of emotions. In fact, the adult child (especially the adult daughter) may additionally experience feelings of loss: the reminder of the mortality and eventual loss of the parent, as well as the feeling of loss of their own youth.
The aging parent – especially one who has lost their spouse or is divorced – can at times be quite challenging for the adult child or children. In addition to the logistical and medical issues, there may be memory loss and potentially problems with substance abuse in the form of alcohol and/or prescription medications, which can further affect memory and overall functioning.
Elderly individuals may be........