my parents told me yesterday that my dad is leaving my mom. ive always been really close with my dad and am worried this will ruin our relationship. i also feel bad for my mom because she just seems to be falling apart. i don't know what to do with myself.
My heart goes out to you. I see you wrote this almost 2 months ago but you may still be in a state of shock or total sadness. Going through your parents divorce is like experiencing a death, except its worse. At least when someone dies you can work on getting closure at some point. Your parents divorce will unfortunately affect you forever. There is healing for you. Your heart is broken now but it can & will heal. Allow yourself to go through the stages of grief but try not to get stuck. Your parents are divorcing each other, NOT YOU. You will have to form a new relationship with each one, but you can do it. It only feels natural to want to help a parent who is falling apart, but who will help you while you are comforting her? Try to take care of yourself. If not, you will spend years putting your life on hold to help your parents recover from this. They will recover, each one in their own time. They will move on, find a new home, and even a new relationship. When this happens you will feel like a satellite floating alone in space, tethered to nothing if you don't take care of yourself now. The resentment you'll have can cause you a lifetime of anger.
What does it mean to take care of yourself? Read books on Adult Children of Divorce. Find a therapist you can talk to. Many places charge on a sliding scale fee (payment based on your income). SET BOUNDRIES! You cannot be your parents therapist. Let them know immediately that you are healing emotionally and you do not have the emotional or mental energy to be a sounding board. By your DNA you are half your Mom & half your Dad. You cannot listen to your parents talk poorly about each other. You will start to wonder "Which parts of me are like my Mom that my Dad hates & what things do I do like my Dad that my Mom can't stand?"
I don't know your name, but I will keep you in my prayers 222abc. This healing is a very long road with land mines & pot holes all along the way. It's a road that, in my opinion, requires a connection to a higher power, no matter how mad you may feel now. Peace to you.
I feel my story is similar as I was so close with my dad. If I had answers I wouldn't be so broken still. I know I need the apt for sure. And I hate when people say your grown get over it at least you aren't still a kid but I feel it's worse when your older but it's bad at age. At least now I know I'm not alone in this. I'm here if u want to talk.
What does it mean to take care of yourself? Read books on Adult Children of Divorce. Find a therapist you can talk to. Many places charge on a sliding scale fee (payment based on your income). SET BOUNDRIES! You cannot be your parents therapist. Let them know immediately that you are healing emotionally and you do not have the emotional or mental energy to be a sounding board. By your DNA you are half your Mom & half your Dad. You cannot listen to your parents talk poorly about each other. You will start to wonder "Which parts of me are like my Mom that my Dad hates & what things do I do like my Dad that my Mom can't stand?"
I don't know your name, but I will keep you in my prayers 222abc. This healing is a very long road with land mines & pot holes all along the way. It's a road that, in my opinion, requires a connection to a higher power, no matter how mad you may feel now. Peace to you.