roommate gets upset over me doing agreed to household work
so i (26nb) have a roommate (54f) who does not seem to understand much about chronic illness, despite claiming to. our living agreement is that i do the cleaning/housework and a few other things as my portion of the bills. i will preface by saying i do not have another living option and i made it crystal clear as to how sick i was before moving in to the point where she accused me of not wanting to live here/pushing her away.
recently, she told me that when i push myself to clean, (an example she used was me sweeping the back stairs) she gets mad at me if i end up flaring or even just needing rest the next few days. “if you notice me being quieter with you after you make yourself not feel good from cleaning, it’s because im mad at you.” she said that she knows it isn’t fair, but it pisses her off that i don’t just stay in bed if i know it’s going to cause me to not feel good.
i have explained to her that it doesn’t matter what i do, im going to end up in flare ups if im out of bed and doing things regardless (ive been in a very unstable health state for the last year or so) and that sometimes its easier to push myself physically than it is to sit and deal with my mental health alone in bed all day. i am in therapy and she knows this, but she essentially just shrugged in response and told me she just doesn’t get it and she’d just enjoy the time to rest if she was me.
there’s also been comments made such as, “well if you mask your symptoms, how am i supposed to tell when you’re struggling?” yet will walk out of the room mid conversation if i bring up not feeling well. or telling me to rest or lay down but then needing a dish that’s in the sink and doing the few dishes she needs so loud it wakes me up.
i have never once let the dishes sit for more than 2 days in the time ive lived here. i have done them before going into the ER and a day after getting home from a hospitalization. by no means do i slack around the house. but i also can’t help that doing housework on a regular basis is going to send me into flares with how my health is right now. i dont know how to get her to understand that and i’ve explained multiple ways multiple times.
it just feels like i can’t win, and after moving in post abusive marriage, i’m at the point where i wish i could just live alone because it feels like the only way ill be able to rest, despite that not being an option
Posted Feb 26, 2026, 1:52 PM UTC