More bad news

Started by Spirit in the sky, February 10, 2019, 04:42:43 AM

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Spirit in the sky

After very little contact with my NMIL over the past weeks she is starting to phone with 'more bad news'. I think she sees it as a way to get attention and sympathy by using sick and dying relatives.

I don't answer the phone when I see her number so thankfully I haven't had to listen to her. She keeps phoning to tell my husband who in the family has cancer and a goes into a lot of detail of the illness. My husband finds this very upsetting, having had cancer himself he doesn't like to be reminded. Most of the people she is talking about are distance relatives he hasn't seen for years, or friends of friends.

He has trying being sympathetic but it just makes her worse, I think she likes the attention. Obviously it's very sad and upsetting for the people involved and they families but I can't believe she is using them to get attention for herself.

accrep

My MIL is more or less the same.
We almost never talk and I never answer the phone.

There seem to be no other way.

mayaberry

Yes, that's pretty much the standard format of all of my nmil's phonecalls. I don't speak to her on the phone either but her calls to H are usually a list of everyone she has ever come across who is ill. This will include people that H has never met in his life. For nmil, it's not usually just telling him about the illness though, it's usually to show how this is affecting her life in some way, to show all of the things that she is having to cope with or how she is helping someone out. It's ridiculous. H actually cuts her off now and just says he doesn't want to hear any of her doom and gloom stories... Doesn't stop her from doing it again next time though!

P&K

I can relate to you on this!
Updmil does this quite frequently to DH and anyone who will listen. Hard to believe how devastated she was over her accountant's wife passing away from cancer. The one she never met and the accountant only FIL deals with.  :sly: You'd have thought it was the End. Of. The. World.
Hard to take her seriously but absolutely maddening to try and deal with.
*hugs* it's definitely for attention, best to ignore it as much as you can. I suggested mine see a therapist to help overcome her strong negative feelings. Didn't hear a peep about the death after that.  :angel:

Spirit in the sky

Miracles do happen!

Apparently everyone who my NMIL said was dying on Saturday has made miraculous recoveries. I am pleased for the people who were ill and it's terrible she exaggerated their suffering for her own benefit. The tears didn't work with my husband, and now she's ignoring him. Let's hope this lasts :)