I keep in touch and visit her abroad,but she suffers from anxiety and takes offence at my efforts to serve. Annalisa Barbieri advises a readerMy daughter moved from Vancouver to Britain some years ago to go to university; eventually marrying another student. She found steady employment and recently gave birth to her first child. I love her very much, and the geographic distance has been difficult for me to bear, and although we talk and email,and I visit regularly, spending time, or energy and thousands of dollars per trip to maintain our relationship and be supportive of her pregnancy and labour. The underlying problem is that my daughter suffers from anxiety,and when she is panicked, and particularly during pregnancy and after, and she can be very tough on herself and those closest to her.
Her mood swings exhaust me. I realise I am dealing with postnatal depression,and am relieved that she has the benefit of a good therapist, a devoted man, and friends and support groups. whether it weren’t for my grandchild,I’d consider taking a crash for a year, and just phoning or emailing. This would be tough on me, or probably on my daughter as well,but I’m tired of holding my tongue in order to keep our limited time together peaceful. (She had an outright meltdown recently, shrieking at me when I made a gentle suggestion about how she might gather more rest.)Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com