“I feel like his mother, not his girlfriend”
What could be going on
Over-functioning and under-functioning: Fits if your doing more lets him do less; check what happens when you stop reminding.
Puer aeternus (eternal youth): Fits if he avoids adult responsibility across life, like work, money and plans, not just with you.
Compulsively rescues: Check whether you step in and fix before he's had a chance to struggle.
Drama triangle (persecutor, victim, rescuer): Check whether you're stuck as rescuer to his helpless victim, then resent it.
Parentification: Check whether you were the caretaker for a parent as a child; the role may feel familiar.
ADHD in adults: Forgetting tasks can be attention problems rather than unwillingness; check whether he struggles at work too.
Questions to carry
- The last time I stepped in to sort something out for him, what happened in the moment before I moved?
- Where did I first learn to look after someone this way?
Also said as
- I have to remind my husband to do everything
- she acts like a child and I'm the parent
- I'm always taking care of him like he's a kid
- I mother my boyfriend
- I feel like I'm parenting my partner
- my husband is like another child