A woman has divided social media after sharing her mother-in-law's extremely blunt text messages in response to her canceling a day out together because of her anxiety.
The woman, identified as Elise, explained how her mother-in-law, Debbie, had booked a restaurant for a family brunch to celebrate Mother's Day last month. However, Elise did not feel up to it and informed Debbie that she and her husband Michael would prefer to stay at home.
In a video posted to Instagram and TikTok, Elise shared screenshots of the messages she received from her husband's mother with the caption: "My mother-in-law doesn't believe in anxiety disorders, so she booked a Mother's Day brunch and refuses to cancel."
The first message from Debbie read: "Hello Elise, I wanted to let you know I booked brunch plans for all of us at Granville!" Elise replied, thanking Debbie for "thinking of us," but added: "I think we were thinking of staying at home though."
Clearly dejected by the response, Debbie said her son and daughter-in-law's absence was "news to me." "I'm sorry, I thought Michael would have told you," Elise replied, prompting Debbie to say: "I was not made aware of any of this. Maybe you can reconsider and be flexible."
Elise explained: "I've been having some more anxiety lately, if you remember what that's like for me, so I think I'd feel much better at home. Just for this year maybe next year we can do something out." Debbie then suggested that her daughter-in-law could try to overcome her anxiety by "taking some water and trying to relax," adding: "It should be no problem."
Elise's video has gone viral online, but many people sided with her mother-in-law. "Your husband can't see his mother on Mother's Day because you have too much anxiety to go to brunch? Seriously?" one Instagram user commented.
Others disagreed and argued that Elise had a right to prioritize her mental health. "These people in the comments have never had anxiety ever," one person wrote. "Don't feel guilty... you deserve to do whatever you want on Mother's Day! I don't feel like it's really considerate."
Another added: "I'm actually appalled at the amount of women on the mother-in-law's side. They must be boy mums." A third declared: "For those saying 'Why can't the hubby go see his mom for a few hours then?' Because it is no longer her day for him to spend with her once he creates his own family."
In a follow-up video posted on Tuesday, Elise revealed the disagreement had escalated, and now her mother-in-law "won't stop trying to cure my anxiety disorder." She said: "Full disclosure, I love my mother-in-law and I'm saying this because I know so many of you love to run to her defence. But if she sends me even one more suggestion on how I can manage my anxiety and my panic disorder, I'm going to have to put her on mute because I can't read this stuff over and over."
She listed examples: "Like, spa retreats? Cool, great - it's not going to cure me, though. Holistic treatments, weird unlicensed therapists, gurus I need to talk to? Tips on how much water I should be drinking? I just can't. I'm done."
