My mother, when I was a teenager. It was frustrating not understanding her mental illness and going through an extremely stressful time at school and at home for other reasons, I think, decreased my ability to deal with it. A few years on and I’m just starting to get over the guilt I have from constantly swearing at her (there was no word or threat immune from being said and when it got really bad, pushing and throwing things at her) and getting on with life.
I don’t talk about this to anyone – even on online – , but it was so damn hard and I wonder how common these kinds of experiences are when growing up with one or both parents having mental health issues or disorders.