Hi Everyone:
I really trust and respect everyone's judgement on this forum and would very much appreciate your feedback on how to deal with a mentally ill family member.
I have a cousin, who is a woman in her early 60s. She has extreme social anxiety disorder, is OCD, germophobic and paranoid. She has never held a job or been in any intimate relationship. She has no hobbies, no friends and no pets. She won't go anywhere or do anything without me and she is wearing me out. She also refuses to get any type of counseling, take medication or do a single thing to help herself.
To add to this problem, she is running out of money. She has lived off of her parents her entire life. After they passed away, she burned through all of the money she inherited. One of the reasons she ran out of money is because of her spending habits. She has a tiny condo, but refuses to clean it, so she hired housekeepers. She refuses to drive so she hires people to drive her. She refuses to cook, so she buys all of her meals in restaurants.
Now she is looking to my DH and me to take care of her. She hints about moving in with us or getting money from us. We can't and won't do it. We don't have the room or the money to take care of her.
She has a brother with a family who live in another country and they don't want to help her. They are hoping we will take on this responsibility.
I feel terrible about this situation all of the time. I am scared that the stress will cause her to have a nervous breakdown. I told her to get a job with benefits, move to a cheaper area, get a roommate to save money, but she refuses to do anything to improve her situation.
What would you do in this situation?