It sucks on SO many levels. Yes indeed it does.


I can ask her sister via text if I can install a lock on my guest bedroom door that I rent. The worst she can say is no. Right now, I have been using a chair (I told my family physician about my roommate b/c I had been thinking about seeing a therapist but can't with my temp hours so I have to see random unlicensed grad school social worker students at the evening walk in clinic for emotional support).


I do think you are right -- that my roommate's sister is using me as a safety net. That, I'm here to prevent my roommate from harming herself at the very worst, and that I would call my roommate's sister with updates if something happened.


I do feel like I'm being taken advantage of. I read that caretaking elderly parents can have lasting health impacts on the adult child caregiver for YEARS (depression for one, and other physical health problems). What impact will living with this 55 year old depressed woman have on me on top of that?


That's probably what concerns me the most. I am thinking of using what little money I have to take some community education art or music classes, so that I have a creative outlet. Sort of like, DIY art and music therapy to help me cope and get through this god-awful period.


I am temping again. I am supposed to find out if this other company will decide to hire me or not soon. And by "soon" I mean, the end of December. My god, if they hired me (as awful as a temp job as it is), that means stable income for at least 1-2 years that would let me move into my own place. And, then I could relax and focus on taking more grad school courses instead of wasting my grad school money to live on, which means I can't use that grad school money to pay for the courses. But I digress...


Tonight, I set some boundaries with my roommate after a sleepless night (due to my own anxiety). I told her that if she wants me to buy her food, she has to give me the money ahead of time. (I don't trust her to give me money after, since she never deposited my rent checks for the past 3 months). She was short with me, "Ok, thank you." Whatever. I am not her caregiver. I'm not being paid by the county to take care of her.


Her sister had told me she would be visiting this week. So far, I haven't seen or heard from her sister. And her ex-husband stopped by tonight to take my roommate's care away from her again. Not sure why he does it. I didn't ask. I don't want to get involved beyond what I've already been involved with.


I won't bring up my roommate's hospitalizations with her. No need to trigger her and create more stress for myself.


I'm sorry that your daughter has bipolar. But she is at least taking responsibility for her treatment and diagnosis. My roommate who is 55 years old and knows better, who's been this way since she was 49, is willfully refusing to take responsibility for herself.


I need to take care of my mental and physical health, I think, while I live here. I think i will look into those community education classes. If I don't do something art-music related as self-therapy, then I'll need to force myself to get involved in Meetups again to get away from this roommate and her miserable energy because it's affecting my energy levels now too.