COLUMNIST and trained counsellor Fiona Caine answers another set of reader dilemmas.

LIVING WITH MY MOTHER IN LOCKDOWN HAS BEEN SO HARD For the past 18 months we’ve lived with my mother. We didn’t want her to be on her own in lockdown and, as her house is bigger than ours, it seemed sensible for us to go to her.

In all that time, she has done all she can to make our lives as difficult as she possibly can. She’s so rude to us both and nothing we do is good enough. She’s particularly rude to my husband and is forever putting him down, saying that he’s not good enough for me.

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He and I have both had to work from home, so it’s been hard to escape her, but my husband has had to do some travelling for his work. He admitted to me that he has regularly extended these trips unnecessarily, just to stay away for a bit longer.

The last time he was away, she told me to seriously think about divorcing him.

I feel as though I am stuck in the middle and it’s making my life a misery. FIONA SAYS: WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?

However vulnerable your mother might be, her behaviour is wrong, and she probably knows it. Unless, that is, she is suffering with some kind of mental health issue.

However, your current situation is intolerable, and I feel you need to address it immediately. You need to talk to your mother to find out why she is behaving in this way - if it is just because she is being vindictive, then perhaps it’s time you moved out.

See if, between you, it’s possible to put together a working compromise.

I’M SO LONELY I’m so desperately lonely and no one seems to care. Everybody I know seems too interested in themselves to worry about others, and none of my so-called friends or workmates bothered to call to see if I was ok once during the lockdown.

My two children are both grown up and only seem to make contact at birthdays or Christmas - the rest of the time, I don’t think they’d notice if I were alive or dead.

FIONA SAYS: LONELINESS IS AWFUL BUT SUPPORT IS OUT THERE I’m so sorry you feel so isolated. You really are not alone in this.

You say you have family, friends, and colleagues who, you feel, should be concerned about you, but have you reached out to them?

Consider ways in which you can make new connections too - perhaps finding groups or by volunteering in some capacity.

Email help@askfiona.net for advice.