At my last appointment with my T, I brought up the idea of finally telling my parents about seeing a therapist and my mental illness. I'm an adult, I live independently, but my parents do live nearby and I do interact with them on a fairly regular basis. My therapist really likes the idea of me telling them, because she feels like it would be an excellent way to broach a conversation on boundaries with them. My mother is my main issue when it comes to boundaries. She doesn't seem to understand that we are two separate people and always wants to be super involved in my life and wants to talk every day. I find that incredibly stressful, and I'm not nearly as close to my mom as she thinks I am. The relationship is very one sided.

I've been seeing a therapist for a little over 5 years, a psychiatrist for almost two years, and was recently diagnosed Bipolar 2. I've struggled with anxiety all my life, and also have social anxiety. I struggle with other things as well, which are probably more symptoms of either the anxiety or bipolar rather than unique disorders or issues (ex: SI, compulsive behaviors, sui thoughts).

My parents do not know any of this about me. To complicate matters, my brother took his life about 13 years ago. I strongly suspect he was Bipolar 1 and undiagnosed/untreated.

How many of you have talked to your parents or other immediate family members as an adult? How did it go? I really just want some more feedback, because I can't seem to swing the decision one way or the other and I really need to so that I don't keep ruminating on this.