Situation · Partners and dating

“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

  1. The last time I stepped in to sort something out for him, what happened in the moment before I moved?
  2. 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

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