My parents act like children

[Guest]

I’m 13 and know legally I may not be able to run away but I feel sad and depressed. My parents have always fought ever since I was young they stress me out and put blames on me. I love them but this has to stop. I’m afraid they’ll get divorced. And when they act like this I feel sad and harm Myself I want to run away but I feel attached to them. When I express my feelings to them they get mad at me (there is nothing dangerous involved) they force religions and beliefs on me and treat me like a Maid for my little sister. A crisis line recommended this website. What do I do?

[ccsmod10]

I’m 13 and know legally I may not be able to run away but I feel sad and depressed. My parents have always fought ever since I was young they stress me out and put blames on me. I love them but this has to stop. I’m afraid they’ll get divorced. And when they act like this I feel sad and harm Myself I want to run away but I feel attached to them. When I express my feelings to them they get mad at me (there is nothing dangerous involved) they force religions and beliefs on me and treat me like a Maid for my little sister. A crisis line recommended this website. What do I do?

Hi, we're really glad you reached out to us. It sounds like your parents have created an environment that you don't feel totally emotionally safe/comfortable in all the time. It also sounds like when you've tried to talk to them about the hard feelings you've been experiencing, they got defensive or didn't truly listen. It's extremely hard to live with people who don't treat you, or one another, with respect. You've had a lot on your plate it sounds like, and don't have to deal with this on your own.

Since you mentioned that you feel sad and harm yourself in response to your parent's behavior, we want to make sure you have these two resources:
NAMI, or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://www.nami.org/help)
https://www.firstpersonplural.org.uk...-self-harm.pdf

NAMI offers a chat service and hotline you can reach out to when you feel like you might want to hurt yourself, and the second item is a list of activities you can try replacing self-harm with.

It sounds like you might really benefit from someone to talk to who will listen to understand and be nonjudgmental. You can live chat us at 1800runaway.org or call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY any time 24/7 and talk with someone who is here to listen, and help as best we can.

It sounds like you do have some positive attachments to your family, and you need a change in your home environment. Whether that means providing you with emotional support and coping mechanisms, strategies for talking with your parents more effectively, or looking at options if you decide you do need to run away, we can talk through a plan. Running away at 13 can be extremely challenging and often creates more problems than it solves-- that being said, if you need to do, forming a strong plan is helpful.

We're here to help, please don't hesitate to reach out.