I have a child with a woman I’ll call “Kara,” who is now my ex-wife. Our son lives full time with me and my new wife, whom I married three years ago. Kara was diagnosed with schizophrenia five or six years ago, which is what ultimately led to our divorce. She has only recently been able to keep a job despite her condition, which is only being moderately well-managed, but she has a pretty good one now.
She’s never been a very good parent, largely because of her illness, and she lived with us for almost a year because I didn’t have the heart to see her homeless. I don’t make a lot of money myself. I’ve been disabled for quite some time, and the extra income would make a big difference in our son’s quality of life.
I’m living in my father’s home along with my younger sister. I’m currently looking for work so I can move out. My plan had been to look for roommates online, but my sister wants us to get a place together. Everyone else in our life agrees that this would be the best idea. I do not want to do this. She is also careless with my property and has already damaged some of my things. She triggers my anxiety to the point that I can’t think straight. I mostly just hide from her. Yet she still insists that we should live together, and is complaining more and more about how my financial situation is preventing her from moving out as soon as she likes.