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Sibling Compelled To Look After “Disabled” Adult Sis Loses It When She Says She’s Pregnant

Sibling Compelled To Look After “Disabled” Adult Sis Loses It When She Says She’s Pregnant

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How far should you go for family? You’re obviously expected to help them out more than you would, say, your friends, but are you obligated to be at their beck and call for the rest of your life? There’s got to be some sort of limit to the relationship, surely.

One woman turned to Reddit to vent about her 28-year-old sister who expects her to clean her filthy house on her days off. Now the sister, who identifies as disabled, has got pregnant, and the woman’s worried about what this new responsibility will mean for her. 

More info: Reddit

You’re expected to go further for family than you would for friends, but this woman’s sister asks a bit too much of her

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The sister is on disability benefits, but doesn’t have any official diagnosis, and has never worked a day in her life

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Image credits: MART PRODUCTION / Pexels (not the actual photo)

She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with two cats and a dog and expects her sister to clean it on her days off

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Image credits: MART PRODUCTION / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Now she’s revealed that she’s pregnant and wants to keep it, but her sister is concerned about the baby being raised in a filthy house by a mostly single parent

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Image credits: kissaviina22

Worried about the extra responsibility this might mean for her on top of everything else she already does for her sister, the woman turned to netizens for advice

OP begins her story by telling the community that her 28-year-old sister has classified herself as disabled and gets disability benefits but doesn’t have any official diagnosis that qualifies her as disabled. She adds that her sister is a high school dropout who hasn’t worked a day in her life and struggles with normal day-to-day tasks because she’s always “too tired.” 

She goes on to say that her sister is “hysterical” about her health and has had every medical test done on her every few months but that the doctors haven’t picked up any problems. According to OP, her sister lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her two cats and a dog who make an awful mess that OP has to clean up on her days off.

OP tells the readers that although her sister has a fiancé, he’s the only one who works and doesn’t have time to clean the house because of his heavy workload. OP also shares that the couple are thousands in debt and have to borrow money from her every month just to cover their food and bills.

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To make matters worse, OP says that her sister has now revealed to her that she’s pregnant and wants to keep the baby. 

She concludes her post by wondering about the added stress and responsibility this will mean for her, especially considering she’s spending most of her days off helping her sister already. 

From what OP tells us in her post, it would seem that her sister feels somewhat entitled to her ongoing care, and cash, too. 

If you’ve ever dealt with an entitled family member, you’ll know firsthand how unreasonable they can be. So, what makes a person think the world owes them something? And what’s the best way to deal with them if they’re family? We went looking for answers.

Image credits:Ron Lach / Pexels (not the actual photo)

According to the WebMD website, an ‘entitlement mentality’ is best defined as a sense of deservingness when little to nothing has been done to deserve special treatment. In short, it’s an attitude of, “You owe me.”

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While it’s not known exactly how this mentality develops, entitlement is a narcissistic personality trait that could arise from the environment the person grew up in, the way the person’s parents treated them, and whether adults solved their problems for them.

In her article for VeryWellMind, Arlin Cuncic writes that it can be difficult to deal with people who come across as entitled and selfish. Relationships with them can create constant stress, as well as grind down your own sense of self-worth.

Cuncic suggests three ways that may help you cope with an entitled person. These include establishing firm boundaries with consequences, setting limits on what they can expect from you and being willing to deny their requests, and encouraging them to problem-solve for themselves.

OP would probably do well to put some of the above into practice before the baby arrives, or she might find herself becoming a full-time babysitter on top of her cleaning duties and constant bailouts.

What would you do if you found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think she should put her foot down and stop enabling her sister’s slovenly lifestyle? Let us know your opinion in the comments!

In the comments, readers agreed that the woman has got to stop enabling her sister by cleaning up after her and helping her out with her bills, or the situation will only get worse

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Ivan Ayliffe

Ivan Ayliffe

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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After twenty years in advertising, I've decided to try my hand at journalism. I'm lucky enough to be based in Cape Town, South Africa and use every opportunity I get to explore everything it has to offer, both indoors and out. When I'm not reading, writing, or listening to podcasts, I spend my time swimming in the ocean, running mountain trails, and skydiving. While I haven't travelled as much as I'd like, I did live in !ndia, which was an incredible experience. I love live music, whether it's in a massive stadium or an intimate club setting.

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Ivan Ayliffe

Ivan Ayliffe

Writer, BoredPanda staff

After twenty years in advertising, I've decided to try my hand at journalism. I'm lucky enough to be based in Cape Town, South Africa and use every opportunity I get to explore everything it has to offer, both indoors and out. When I'm not reading, writing, or listening to podcasts, I spend my time swimming in the ocean, running mountain trails, and skydiving. While I haven't travelled as much as I'd like, I did live in !ndia, which was an incredible experience. I love live music, whether it's in a massive stadium or an intimate club setting.

Rūta Zumbrickaitė

Rūta Zumbrickaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Hi! Nice to meet you~ I'm very passionate about animals, especially cats, photography, small DIY projects, music and so much more! Could say I am the TV show The Office connoisseur since I have seen it at least a dozen times~

Read less »

Rūta Zumbrickaitė

Rūta Zumbrickaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Hi! Nice to meet you~ I'm very passionate about animals, especially cats, photography, small DIY projects, music and so much more! Could say I am the TV show The Office connoisseur since I have seen it at least a dozen times~

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lenka
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dont know what country you are in, but in most places it is nigh on impossible to get disability benefits even for the clearly disabled. If she gets disability benefits then she has undergone all the assessments and has been diagnosed with a disability.

Stacy s
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If she gets disability benefits, then a doctor or psychiatrist somewhere found something wrong. OP said she goes to many doctors, nothing is wrong with sister, and she self diagnosed. That doesn't make any sense. / That being said, sister does not HAVE to go clean her house. And when the baby comes she could call cps if it's an unsafe place, tho it sounds like she may need to adopt her neice.

Marnie
Community Member
4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agreed. In the US, at least, you absolutely have to have a diagnosis, and it is still really difficult. My sister was helping a woman who was 70 yo, had a chronic heart condition, was almost deaf, and was now going blind. They denied her first application for disability benefits. Maybe this is a different country, and a diagnosis is not needed? I can't imagine what criteria they would have. Seems a diagnosis would be the absolutely most basic criteria in any system.

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Weasel Wise
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sister needs to seek mental health help and OP needs to stop enabling such behavior. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Papa
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know if mental health is to blame for the issues or not, but I do know that as long as OP continues cleaning for her and giving her money she doesn't have any incentive to do things for herself.

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lenka
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dont know what country you are in, but in most places it is nigh on impossible to get disability benefits even for the clearly disabled. If she gets disability benefits then she has undergone all the assessments and has been diagnosed with a disability.

Stacy s
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If she gets disability benefits, then a doctor or psychiatrist somewhere found something wrong. OP said she goes to many doctors, nothing is wrong with sister, and she self diagnosed. That doesn't make any sense. / That being said, sister does not HAVE to go clean her house. And when the baby comes she could call cps if it's an unsafe place, tho it sounds like she may need to adopt her neice.

Marnie
Community Member
4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agreed. In the US, at least, you absolutely have to have a diagnosis, and it is still really difficult. My sister was helping a woman who was 70 yo, had a chronic heart condition, was almost deaf, and was now going blind. They denied her first application for disability benefits. Maybe this is a different country, and a diagnosis is not needed? I can't imagine what criteria they would have. Seems a diagnosis would be the absolutely most basic criteria in any system.

Load More Replies...
Weasel Wise
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sister needs to seek mental health help and OP needs to stop enabling such behavior. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Papa
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know if mental health is to blame for the issues or not, but I do know that as long as OP continues cleaning for her and giving her money she doesn't have any incentive to do things for herself.

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