Do you have problems with your family?

[Walilamdzi]

After I had a breakdown then recovered, my father sometimes claimed that normal actions of mine (that he didn't like) were symptoms of mental illness, and during an argument he threatened to phone mental health services and police for no reason. I no longer trust him at all, it's very difficult to know that someone has a heightened degree of power due to you having a medical history. These services would definitely have sided with him. He also claimed that me walking slightly fast was a sign of 'mania' once. It's very frustrating when someone has peculiar subjective beliefs and claims that your actions are mental illness.

He has behaved in quite an extreme way to me during arguments, but then lies about it and even went to the effort of telling other people I was misremembering and exaggerating things. This was really the final straw for me.

Do any of you have similar problems with family?

 

[Cubashii]

My therapist told me that kinda treatment is call gaslighting I think. Mean someone does stuff and says stuff to make you believe you are crazy. Its a type of brainwashing.

 

[Final Escape]

I feel in many ways I don't have family. It's like I'm completely adrift in the world. Yes I came from a dysfunctional broken family.

 

[Walilamdzi]

@Cubashii Yeah, I would call it a form of gaslighting. It's hard though because when you have an official diagnosis, a lot of people automatically dismiss things you say when your perception isn't at all impaired. I've experienced aggression from him, and my ex. When I told my friends, they dismissed it.

@Final Escape I often felt quite a lot of jealousy for families that weren't broken when I was younger.

 

[Cubashii]

My mom uses my mental illness as to why i cant go and do things like other people. When im fine on my meds. I can even go to college now.
I have a hiking trip coming up in a few weeks where i will be alone for 4 days hiking and shes trying to talk me out of it saying what if you hallucinate or get a delusion. which i dont on this new shot and meds.

 

[Walilamdzi]

@Cubashii That's really frustrating, I hope that you get to go on the hiking trip. Do you think you can convince her, or go without her permission?

I had to leave college and tried to restart it but had another breakdown. Now all my friends are graduating and nothing positive has happened in my life. I think that if things hadn't been so toxic at home, I wouldn't have had any breakdown and would have gone to college successfully. I imagine if I ctb, the emphasis will be on mental illness and the whole narrative will be "mental illness is a killer..." but I hope that he takes some responsibility and realises that my upbringing has contributed a lot to my misery.

 

[Cubashii]

Im going without permission like I always do. Im 29. She needs to understand that.

 

[Walilamdzi]

It's probably intended to be loving, or comes from her worrying from the past, but it's very stifling. I'm glad you have the enthusiasm to go on a hike, I barely want to go outside.

 

[Cubashii]

Staying inside makes me sick after so long. I have to be out hiking or with my kayak all the time. Inside i feel like i cant breathe.

 

[Roberto]

My family has problems with me. For any strange reason they don't want to talk to me. They don't understand ctb motivation.

 

[Cubashii]

My family has problems with me. For any strange reason they don't want to talk to me. They don't understand ctb motivation.

I dont think anyone understands till they feel that feeling.

 

[lululoo]

Definitely. Since I was a child and had any sort of reaction to his emotional abuse, like sadness or fear or anger, my dad would blame it on my sensitivity and later on my "depression." Whenever I was mad at him he thought it was because of my issues. He thinks he knows me better than I know myself. Would always tell me what I was thinking or feeling. I knew he was wrong but it still confused me.

 

[Kyrok]

My wife gets angry with me when I outline to her how my mistakes will lead to the end of my career. She isn't willing to really listen and understand how my world works. She thinks I'm delusional... and even thinks it egotistical of me to think that anyone would care so much about what I've done.