@Rosemary4 My brother and only relative of mine have very little to do with eachother. He has similar erroneous beliefs about my unemployment even though I was deemed an employment risk by a disabled recruitment agency. If you can't work and honestly can say that with every fibre of your being then its not a problem. I have done cleaning in the past, supermarket work and disability work. But since then could not work.
My brother dredges up the past constantly such as me not attending my parents funeral interstate even though I am unable to travel due to M.E. and can barely leave the house even for essential things. If people are not prepared to cut you some slack its best to put your boundaries and not expose yourself to their negative attitudes.
We are the deserving poor, not like those people we are mistaken as being - those who are flaunting the system. Unfortunately the prevailing ethos of society is those who don't work don't deserve welfare. I would say your relative has had a hard time of it having to work but looking at you and not understanding the level of suffering you experience because its invisible.
Try and not get upset. Its not your fault and whenever something goes wrong people are all too willing to pin the blame. Do something nice for yourself today. I understand how alienating these notions are coming from ill-informed people xxoo
