As we get older, it’s common for our relationships with our parents to change and become more complex. For some, their aging parent grows sweeter and more sentimental. For others, their parent becomes difficult, critical or even verbally abusive. This can be very painful, especially when it feels like the warm, loving bond you once shared is gone. If your aging mother seems mean, angry, or manipulative, it doesn’t necessarily mean she doesn’t love you. There are several reasons an aging parent may become difficult, and in most cases, it’s not deliberate cruelty. Understanding the potential causes can help you cope with the hurtful behavior in a more constructive way.
Why Is My Aging Mother So Mean?
Here are some common reasons an aging mother may become mean or abusive:
She’s dealing with medical problems
Declining physical health and conditions like dementia can cause personality changes in older adults. Your mother may be dealing with physical pain, advancing disease, side effects of medications, or neurological changes that contribute to anger and lashing out. Dementia in particular erodes a person’s ability to regulate emotions. The meanness may get worse as her cognition declines. She may seem like a different person entirely as her filters disappear.
She feels lonely and irrelevant
Many older adults struggle with loneliness and a loss of purpose in their later years. Retirement, living alone after losing a spouse, or having children move away can all increase isolation. Mean behavior can be an unconscious way to seek attention and feel relevant. Criticizing you makes her feel important. It’s not ideal, but it fills an emotional void.
She feels dependent and powerless
Losing independence is frustrating for a previously autonomous adult. Needing help with things she used to do herself means relying on others for transportation, meals, and household help. For some, this brings up feelings of shame and helplessness. Taking jabs at you or making unreasonable demands may help your mother feel a sense of control.
She’s stressed about her limitations
Not being able to do things physically like she used to can be scary. Pain, fatigue, mobility issues make everything harder. Tasks need to be spread out and she may require more rest breaks. Feeling like she’s slowing down can contribute to irritability and mood swings.
Her brain is changing
Aging causes structural changes in the brain. Reduced volume and blood flow affects thought processes, memory, and impulse control. Parts of the brain literally shrink. Neurotransmitters don’t work as efficiently. Just as adolescence brought mood swings, the aging brain can too. She may lose her filter and lash out more easily.
She has unresolved emotional issues from childhood
Painful experiences from childhood often resurface late in life. Her mean behavior may stem from deeply buried feelings related to her own upbringing. As cognition declines, old defenses also decline. Hurts, fears, anger and resentment bubble up. She may transfer these feelings onto you.
Her needs aren’t being met
Frustration often fuels anger. Constant discomfort, untreated depression or anxiety, lack of social contact, and sensory deprivation can put your mother permanently on edge. She may have needs that aren’t being recognized or accommodated, provoking knee-jerk meanness. Determining unmet needs requires observation and questions.
She feels disrespected
Aging comes with many indignities that can chip away at self-esteem. Needing help with bathing or toileting robs older adults of dignity. Your mother may be hypersensitive about being “talked down to” or treated like a child. Perceived disrespect provokes anger to compensate. She may pick fights to demand respect.
She fears abandonment
As parents age, there’s often an unspoken fear of “being dumped” by grown children. Declining health and independence commonly causes worry about being left in a nursing facility. She may worry you’ll stop visiting. Her meanness could be an unconscious test of your commitment. It’s hurtful but originates in fear.
Her personality was always difficult
Sometimes mean behavior isn’t new. Emotionally abusive parents remain so in old age. Past issues persist, or deteriorating cognition makes them worse. Mental illnesses like narcissistic or borderline personality disorders do not improve with time. Protecting your own well-being becomes essential.
How To Cope With A Mean Aging Mother
Coping requires insight, self-care, boundary-setting and letting some comments roll off your back. To survive verbal abuse from an aging parent:
See it as her issue, not yours
Her words reveal what’s going on inside her head. They likely have little to do with you. Assume she’s doing the best she can in that moment, even if it’s hurtful. Examining your part in provoking her anger can help you modify your own behavior, if needed.
Redirect the conversation
If she becomes abusive, calmly redirect the conversation. Say you want to talk but you’ll need to continue the discussion when she’s feeling better. Leave if needed. This models appropriate communication without shaming.
Limit time together
If visits frequently escalate into hurtful behavior, limit contact to shorter intervals. Schedule regular breaks during longer visits. This allows pleasant contact without excessive strain. Say, “let’s take a 20 minute break and come back refreshed.”
Enforce boundaries
Let her know verbally abusive behavior won’t be tolerated. Calmly call out hurtful remarks in the moment. Make it clear you’ll need to cut conversations short if she doesn’t stop. Then follow through. Boundaries require consequences.
Ask why
Gently asking “Why do you feel inclined to say something so hurtful?” can snap her into awareness. She may not realize how mean she sounds. Pointing it out gives her a chance to self-reflect.
Don’t retaliate or stonewall
As justified as retaliation might feel in the moment, resist this urge. Sinking to her level won’t improve communication. Similarly, punishing her with stony silence can worsen isolation and feed mean behavior. Staying neutral helps.
Rule out factors causing personality changes
Have her doctor screen for underlying causes like UTIs, pain, poor nutrition, medications, or cerebral vascular damage. Reversible factors can sometimes be treated, improving disposition. Early dementia detection is also wise.
Suggest counselling
A neutral third party like a senior counselor may help reveal root issues driving abusive behavior. Counseling provides tools to help her self-regulate. It also gives you an ally in setting boundaries.
Practice self-care
Verbal abuse takes an emotional toll. Nurture yourself between visits with activities and people who uplift you. Keep perspective it’s not your fault. Confide in trusted friends. Journal painful interactions to process the feelings.
When Is It Time To Walk Away?
If your aging mother remains mean and hurtful despite your best efforts, you may need to cut contact for self protection. Consider walking away if:
| – Her behavior constantly stresses you to a boiling point |
| -Your mental health deteriorates from repeated abuse |
| -Reasonable boundaries are ignored |
| -She’s unwilling to address concerns through counselling |
| -Communication consistently turns abusive with no breaks |
| -You dread contact and repeatedly feel awful afterward |
| -There’s a pervasive sense she enjoys upsetting you |
In severe cases, it becomes essential to remove yourself from the situation. You may still help arrange quality care for her, but from a distance. Seek professional guidance to ensure her safety isn’t compromised by this choice.
When To Let Mean Comments Roll Off Your Back
In less extreme situations, decreasing contact may help you stay calmer. But some hurtful behaviors may still surface. Learning not to take these comments personally or correcting her each time takes mindfulness. Here’s when to let mean remarks roll off your back:
If she’s resetting old patterns
Mean parents tend to slip into lifelong roles. Having you in the “naughty child” role gives her a sense of significance. Don’t buy into the pattern. Her criticism reflects her mood, not your worth.
If it’s the dementia talking
With Alzheimer’s or dementia, hurtful words are often nonsense without logical meaning. Arguing back makes matters worse. Reorient her if needed, but don’t take offenses personally. She can’t help losing her filter.
If lashing out gives her temporary relief
Frustration often sparks mean comments. Providing an outlet like venting may calm her. Letting it pass without reacting can help her blow off steam. Address the root frustration once she settles.
If correcting her won’t help
When dementia is present, explaining her error often backfires. Rectifying facts becomes pointless. Let it go rather than cause more confusion. Focus on conveying empathy and reassurance.
If meanness increases her interaction
Sometimes negative attention still fills a need for acknowledgment. Starving this need may reduce the behavior over time. Don’t reward meanness with lavish reassurance. A brief “you seem very upset, let’s talk later” suffices.
If health issues are causing pain
Irritability from physical discomfort often sparks mean comments. Helping remedy the cause will remove this trigger. In the meantime, avoidance arguing back gives pain a chance to subside.
Conclusion
Coping with a mean aging parent stirs up resentment, grief, guilt and anger. Their cruel words can shake your self-esteem. But remember that hurt people, hurt people. Your mother’s brain and body are changing in ways that promote fear and excess reactions. The meanness likely conceals suffering she can’t articulate well. While you shouldn’t endure abuse, contextualizing her behavior will help you respond more compassionately. This benefits you both in the long run.
