Ellen70
10-04-07, 02:53
This isn't something that can be 'fixed' but I just feel like airing it anyhow.
A couple of weeks ago I finally summoned up the courage to go to a support group that I had been meaning to attend for ages. I live in a rural area and this group is an eleven mile drive away and the driving home in the dark by myself was what put me off going for so long.
Anyhow I went one Wednedsay night recently and it turned out that my sister-in-law's father was also in the group. I knew that he used to attend the group several years ago but my sister-in-law mentioned a while back that he didn't attend anymore so I obviously didn't expect to see him there. He is a very nice man, in his eighties and would never do someone wrong intentionally.
Anyhow the support group has a very strict privacy policy and talking about what is shared within the group is strictly forbidden, as is telling others outside of the group who attends it.
I hoped that this man would not mention that I was at the group and I certainly didn't mention to any of my family that he was at the group. Unfortuantely he did tell my sister-in-law and my brother that I was there that night and that I didn't attend since. He absolutely meant no harm in telling them but now I feel that there isn't any point in going to the group as I would not be able to speak freely and would be afraid that anything private I did say would be 'leaked' back to my family.
The next nearest support group is 32 miles away and I certainly couldn't face that drive alone every week.
Anyhow I was wondering if anyone else had encountered the problem of meeting people they knew at a support group and how they dealt with it. At the moment I feel that I just won't attend the group anymore.
Regards
Eibhlin
A couple of weeks ago I finally summoned up the courage to go to a support group that I had been meaning to attend for ages. I live in a rural area and this group is an eleven mile drive away and the driving home in the dark by myself was what put me off going for so long.
Anyhow I went one Wednedsay night recently and it turned out that my sister-in-law's father was also in the group. I knew that he used to attend the group several years ago but my sister-in-law mentioned a while back that he didn't attend anymore so I obviously didn't expect to see him there. He is a very nice man, in his eighties and would never do someone wrong intentionally.
Anyhow the support group has a very strict privacy policy and talking about what is shared within the group is strictly forbidden, as is telling others outside of the group who attends it.
I hoped that this man would not mention that I was at the group and I certainly didn't mention to any of my family that he was at the group. Unfortuantely he did tell my sister-in-law and my brother that I was there that night and that I didn't attend since. He absolutely meant no harm in telling them but now I feel that there isn't any point in going to the group as I would not be able to speak freely and would be afraid that anything private I did say would be 'leaked' back to my family.
The next nearest support group is 32 miles away and I certainly couldn't face that drive alone every week.
Anyhow I was wondering if anyone else had encountered the problem of meeting people they knew at a support group and how they dealt with it. At the moment I feel that I just won't attend the group anymore.
Regards
Eibhlin