17 and want to move out

[Guest]

I am 17 years old. I would like to move out and I do not know if I am allowed to do that. I love my family but I can not live with them anymore. I used to be very depressed and I tried to go to my parents but they brushed it off and said it was a phase. I had to deal with that alone and I got myself to a good place. However, it is hard to stay happy with how my parents talk to me like I am not going to go anywhere in life, them not letting me do things and grounding me for stupid reasons, I am slowly falling back into old habits and I do not want that. For example, today at I had a panic attack and I could not breathe in the middle of class. I just got up and left without even talking to the teacher because I had to calm myself down. My parents are the main source of my stress right now and it is not good for my anxiety. I need to get out of this house. Last time I almost ended everything and I do not ever want to be in that place again. I got better on my own because my parents did not think anything was wrong even though I went to them and said I needed help. I really just need to move out because I can not handle the stress they put me under. They make me feel like I am not good enough and I never do anything right.

[ccsmod6]

Hi,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to us tonight. We're really sorry to hear about the way you're feeling living at home. It can definitely be difficult living in an environment where you feel like you are being misunderstood and mistreated by your parents. Having panic attacks can be really scary and it is understandable that you want to try and make things better for yourself.

We are not legal experts, but for the most part if you leave home before the age of 18 your parents could file a runaway report with the police. In moat states the age of majority is 18, so you would not be able to leave home without permission until then or older. Running away is not illegal, it is considered a status offense. That means that you would not get arrested for running away, but the police would be looking for you if your parents filed a report and they would have to take you back home if they found you. Some police departments do not take runaway reports for 17 year olds though, as some police departments consider them close enough to 18. This really differs from police department to police department though, so you would likely have to reach out to your local police department and ask them.

If you need any more information or just want to talk about what you are going through please don't hesitate to reach out to us again! You can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. We can even call out to your local police department for you if you would like. We wish you the best of luck with everything.