Originally Posted by
sunnshinegirl 
Hammer, wow, you really are a strong person. I admire that.
ehhh, not so much.
Just following "best practices" from a NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) guideline >>>
http://www.nami.org/Content/Microsit...Boundaries.doc
WS = Well Spouse (that would typically be us)
MIS = Mentally Ill Spouse (that would be the A, A, and/or A)
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[In part]
. . . . .
PRACTICAL BOUNDARIES
The Well Spouse will probably need to take over the practical, day to day responsibilities of the family. These responsibilities may include the following, depending upon the severity of the illness:
1.
Making sure the family has a permanent place to live. Often Mentally ill persons will want to move and/or change jobs often, running from the illness and failures to cope.
The WS must affirmatively and unequivocally put a stop to this constant moving. If the WS has the finances, he/she should buy a house, put down roots, and deal with reality.
2. Handling the finances. Most mentally ill persons do not handle money well. This may mean withdrawing credit cards from the MIS. This usually means setting up a separate checking account. This means paying all or nearly all of the bills. We have found that even when the WS has tried to share some bill paying responsibility with the MIS, it usually fails. If the WS is a woman who is not working, she MUST get a job.
[LOT more on the link.]
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