Connect
← Return to Guilt Towards Family Due To Mental Illness
Discussion
Guilt Towards Family Due To Mental Illness
Mental Health | Last Active: Feb 4 10:54pm | Replies (55)Comment receiving replies
@tonbop I can imagine how you feel. I feel guilt because of my depression, I see how it affects my wife and my son. My doctors keeps telling me that it is not my fault I'm like this and in my mind I know it's like that. But when I see my wife worrying about me, or feeling frustrated because she can't help me, I feel guilt. We should remember that none of us didn't choose to be ill. It is like we have broken arm; we need to accept that we have currently some limitations, we will not go to play basketball then. And with mental illness we have again different kind of limitations. It is important to know and to feel that it is not our fault. But it is very easy to say it, much harder to believe it. I feel constantly guilty that I'm like this, I am just an additional burden to my wife.
Replies to "@tonbop I can imagine how you feel. I feel guilt because of my depression, I see..."
Hi, @amberpep -- Yes, I do feel blessed. It has helped me a lot to have a child who is intuitive about my feelings and really empathizes with me. I was raised in more of a "buck up" atmosphere where negative emotions were not super validated, so I guess I've tried to acknowledge my own and my two sons' negative emotions and discuss them. My household growing up also was not one where adults apologized to kids hardly ever, so I've also really tried to apologize to my kids if my negative emotions ever lead to not-so-great behavior, such as yelling at them or saying a cuss word in front of them.
Connect
You are so very blessed lisa .... my 3 adult kids totally ignore anything relating to how I'm feeling. And, I have avoided over-talking about it. If I'm in a depressed mood, I do everything I can so they don't know because I know they say things like, "well Mom, you know life happens." All I'd like is a hug and an I love you. One of them is more sensitive to emotional ups and downs as she has them herself, so we can be together and in some strange way, it helps ..... we understand each other and don't say things like, "buck up .... you'll be fine."
abby