[frownupsidedown]

My parents dropped by for the extremely long weekend and now I am hit with the fallout of their visit. It's a complicated situation, but I am tortured emotionally whenever I spend time with them. The worst thing is that they don't see me as I am right now and they refuse to acknowledge or learn about my struggles with depression (it's too much for them to handle). It's frustrating and I don't know how to change the situation so I don't continue to suffer emotionally with each visit by them.

Any suggestions?

[Travelinglady]

I've had this problem, too. How often do they visit? Can you get them to visit less frequently somehow without making it obvious?

I encourage you to get a therapist and have him/her in place. I always called mine when I would come back from a visit with my parents!

[Rohag]

Originally Posted by frownupsidedown

...I am tortured emotionally whenever I spend time with them.

From where does the emotional torture come? Conversation? I mean, do they initiate and steer conversation to uncomfortable places? Even if no conversation were to take place, would you still feel tortured by their presence?

[frownupsidedown]

Originally Posted by Rohag

From where does the emotional torture come? Conversation? I mean, do they initiate and steer conversation to uncomfortable places? Even if no conversation were to take place, would you still feel tortured by their presence?

Sometimes it's the conversation, but most of it is seeing and interacting with them which reminds me of past memories concerning them that anger and upset me and that I can't discuss with them.

[RJ78]

I see. What has worked relatively well for me is sending my parents and others I'm close with a booklet/pamphlet with information on how to communicate with people who suffer from depression about their depression. Essentially it provided coping tools for loved ones. That way I didn't need to sit down with them and explain things to them, I could rely on other people to do so.

Let me know what you think!

RJ