When the ONLY person you want is the one you've lost

Hi everyone,

To keep a long story short: I lost my father to this f*****g disease we call "cancer" about 18 months ago. He was the love of my life. EVERYTHING that means anything is tied up with my dad. And I currently have no will to live without him. For any moderator who may see this, please don't worry about suicide - I do not plan to kill myself. However, I have absolutely zero - and I mean ZERO - interest in anything else in this world, which no longer contains the most important and wonderful thing I've ever known - my father.

I'm writing this post not to get "advice," since that has always been totally useless. I'm writing this to reach out to anybody who feels the same way - do you feel that the only person you want to talk to is the one you've lost? That all other people and all other relationships are second-rate (sounds harsh, but it's how I feel) and largely pointless? Here are things I've tried and found useless:

1) Counselling (4 different counsellors) - utterly useless

2) Talking to friends - utterly useless (they mean well but their empathy skills are extremely poor)

3) Writing about how I feel - not entirely useless but not much good

4) Posting here occasionally - not entirely useless but so far of very limited use

Here are the two things that almost everyone says, both of which are also useless:

1) "Time will help" - maybe it will; maybe it won't. I wouldn't be so sure in my case. Since my father was my entire world, and since I've lost him, I don't see how "time will help." Is time going to bring him back? Obviously not. It is now 18 months since my father died and I do not feel different at all. Not one bit. Every day is exactly the same. I do not expect this to change any time soon. I would not be surprised if I felt like this for years. Hell, I would not be surprised if I feel like this forever. I have never loved anything or anyone in the way I loved my father. I have never been loved by anyone in the way I was loved by my father. Neither of those things is going to change. 

2) "Your father would want you to move on and live your life" - utterly useless advice. My father is no longer here! What he would want if he were here is irrelevant. What's relevant is that I don't have him with me, can't cuddle him, can't hear his laugh, can't feel his warmth, and so on. I don't want to "move on and life my life." I want to be with my b****y dad!

So that brings me back to the title of this post - the ONLY person I want is the one I have lost. The only THING I want (interaction with my father) is the one thing I can never have again. Instead I am supposed to spend the rest of my life on planet earth (which could be decades) without the only thing that ever really meant anything to me (on the deepest level). Everything else feels utterly trivial and pointless.

How are you supposed to live when the ONLY person you want to be with is the one you've lost? If you feel the same, feel free to reply,

Adam

Parents
  • Hi [@bras1548]‍ 

    At the age of 32 I have already lost a number of loved ones to cancer. Although I have been deeply, deeply saddened by these losses, none have ever brought me to a forum like this. My Mum passed away on 15th May and this is the death that has broken me and led me to here to seek comfort and understanding from strangers who may have an idea of what I'm going through. So trust me when I say that you are not alone in how you're feeling.

    There have been days where I haven't wanted to get up out of bed and feel like I don't want to go on because what's the point if cancer is just going to continue to take my loved ones. But we HAVE to go on. We have no other option. My Mum made me, she lives on in me and she would be absolutely devastated to see me this upset. I know you say it's not helpful when people say this to you but it's true. If your Dad was your soul I'm sure it would pain him to see you hurting this much. If you were the love of his life like you say, then you need to live your life for the both of you. If the situation were reversed, I'm sure you would not want to see your Dad this devastated.

    On this forum I have read heartbreaking stories of loss. Young children without parents, mothers and fathers losing teenage children, very young widows and widowers. I lost my Dad 17 years ago when I was just 15 but I'm now trying to be thankful that I had my Mum until I was 32. Although 68 still feels so young to me, I'm trying to be thankful that she got 68 years of life. Growing older is a privilege denied to so, so many.

    I have been told that gratitude and bitterness are two sides of the same coin. It's easy to feel bitter and look at others in our life who still have all their loved ones and think why me? Why my family? But that's no way to live. It's up to us to flip that coin and choose gratitude. Choose to look at the people we still have around us who are there for us, who are trying. They may not know what to say and they certainly can't do anything to take your pain away but they are there for you. We are only human and are all trying the best we can with the cards we have been dealt. Grief is our own, it's unique to us and no one will ever be able to fully empathise. It's up to us to not let grief consume us and to live our altered lives to the fullest, no one else.

    Forgive me if I'm overstepping here but it sounds like you may have some PTSD from watching your Dad suffer so terribly. This is not uncommon and can manifest itself a long time after a traumatic event. It might be helpful to speak to a doctor about how you're feeling to get you the appropriate help and ease your burden.

    Look after yourself

    J

  • Hi dexter your mum would be very proud of you .yes you are young to loose her .and life is hard .so hard without her . But you know she would want you to live your life and be happy .im sure shes around keeping an eye on you .hope time will make things a little softer.....i to have lost my son to this horrible illness .4 months and he was gone .i lost sam end of april he was just 25 .im broken. Ive come on this website to talk to people like yourself who has lost your lovely mum.i hope there up there dancing with the angels  .you take care hold your head high .your mum would be very proud

    Love zoe

  • [@happiness]‍ 

    What a lovely message considering the terribly sad time you are going through. May your son rest in peace, just like all the souls who have been taken by this terrible disease.

    We are here for you.

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