Email reply

I got an email back from A's dad. The email's tone was neutral and relatively harmless, but in essence he said A's mum has always been that way, and that I should adopt a different attitude and just get on with life.

I am getting on with life, just without them, temporarily. I don't think it's unreasonable to avoid people and situations that are going to make dealing with this illness more difficult than it already is.

What's more, yesterday, my doctor said that I'm a "difficult case", and that the situation between me and A's parents is what's prolonging my illness.

I don't think there's much else I can do. I've already tried everything. I've tried having them over, but A's mum couldn't resist saying things like "Why can't you just accept that you'll have it for the rest of your life, and stop complaining", and "Why can't you just go away for a year and come back when you're fine" and "Can't you be more independent". When people are down, you don't kick them in the guts.

Even when we were just at home, and they were over for lunch, she couldn't resist worstening the situation. I was feeling like shit, so I wasn't saying much. She could have just bit her tongue, but she said "What, so we're annoying you now? What do you want us to do, go outside?" How was I supposed to respond to something like that? You might think I'm exaggerating, but I am really repeating what she said word for word.

I don't expect them to do anything to help me. I just want them to not make it worse. I don't think it's too much to ask. It'd be so easy to just bite your tongue and be neutral, even if you didn't believe the illness exists or is that bad.