When Your Parent Is Mentally & Physically Ill by Ice Scream Mama

My father is sick – physically, but also mentally. He needs my help desperately. He needs me to check in with him, to call his doctors, to fix his messes. Depression and anxiety are terrible, but he just needs so much. He takes more than I have to give. Takes until I’m as depleted as he is. I know he can’t help it. He’s alone, lost, unhappy, and in pain, and I’m all he’s got.

For anyone caring for a parent with mental illness, finding yourself exhausted,  struggling to stay compassionate in the midst of it all…you aren’t alone.

ABOUT ALISA: Alisa Schindler is freelance writer who chronicles the sweet and bittersweet of life in the suburbs on her highly entertaining blog, Ice Scream Mama.  Her essays have been featured on Mamapedia.com and BonBon Break, as well as in the book, “Life Well Blogged.” She is a member of Yeah Write, an on-line writer’s community, where she has won the Jury Prize multiple times in their weekly essay writing contest. She has just completed her first novel that she feels comfortable sharing with someone other than her mother.

Follow Alisa on Facebook and Twitter

CONTINUE READING IN THE FAMILY ROOM