Have you considered taking them to an appointment with your Pdoc and letting him explain to them that you do actually have a real live mental disorder????

If your parent/s were abusive through your childhood, there's not much chance of you being forceful enough to make them understand. And for the most part Psych meds aren't the big thing drug addicts are looking for. Yes if you take them for a long period of time, and you should if you have the mental issues you mentioned, then you'll develop a tolerance to them over time....that's a big difference from Addiction.

Kat

I have tried bringing them. They say I am doing it for attention and then I get chewed out the whole way home. I just feel like I only have a handful of people in my corner and I don't want to lie anymore. I just want them to except me for who I am. They support my sister, but not me and I don't know why. Luckily I no longer live with them (I live 3 hours away) but I just want to know how to handle it when they start in on me. Like I chose to be Bipolar or to be injured in two auto accidents. I just want it all to stop. You know?

Sounds like your parents are in denial. But why? Curious. I'm so sorry you haven't got the support system you need YET! As you know, YOU always have US! ((((HUGS))))

Having a "few friends and a few family members" in your corner is much more than a lot of people with mental illness have, so I am glad to hear you have some kind of support system. I know that I regret that my mom knows about my bipolar because it makes her angry and she expresses that towards me often. I'm worried that your dad may feel the same. I think that the more positive support you have, the better, but if you are almost sure you will get negative feedback, it seems to me that that is just asking for heartbreak. I have learned that my mom doesn't have to know everything about me, for her sake as much as for mine. Sometimes I feel that she should know, as my parent, but I remind myself of the negativity some knowledge leads to for her, and I catch myself before I talk. If you are able to rely on others, I say, do so.

I agree with Blessedgirl. As to why your parents support your sister and not you please google "favoritism" and you will find it is about your parents and not about you. For instance my parents favored my 2 oldest siblings who just happened to be oldest son and oldest daughter, same as my parents,

Being the favored child has some problems - feeling deserving of anything they want and believing there are no consequences to their behavior.

Hi and Welcome Bria....I know it hurts when your family doesn't seem to be in your corner
Unfortunately the stigma for mental illness still stands and it's wonderful that you've stood up to it... at the same time if they've been abusive and not there for you in the past the odds of them changing their ways now doesn't seem promising to me
You can't change them however you can change how you respond to them.. Therapy can help a lot with this
As others have said and I hope one day you'll believe this... The abuse comes from within them and it's not about you
If it were me I'd seek support elsewhere... I don't think you'll get what you want... There are other good places to reach out for support sweetie..xo

You have to ask yourself if it matters more to you for your parents to know what's going on with your health, or to protect yourself from bad reactions. My parents aren't supporting of me, so I've finally decided to stop trying to tell them things about how I feel when they don't care.

It sounds like their reaction might be one of not caring or saying potentially hurtful things, and since your dad was verbally abusive during your childhood, would you want to put yourself in that situation?

I'm with SunCloud. This is exactly the kind of problem that can be greatly helped by getting the right therapy!!!

There's a lot going on here but by sorting out this and that, you can distill it down to just a couple of things that need tending to -- at least at first.

For one thing, if you DO go to therapy, I suggest you consider not telling your parents about it right away.
It's not like it's something that should be a deep, dark (or shameful!) secret, but since it sounds like your parents may have the same sort of reaction to you going to a therapist as they already do about you dealing with your other psychological/mood disorder issues, why add even more 'rejection' and/or 'criticism' to what's already going on?

And if you already ARE in therapy (which would be a good idea for helping with the PTSD, aside from the rest of it all) and it's not helping you with all the things you mention here, you may want to consider changing therapists.

It's no fun when parents favor a sibling over us, but I would suggest you set that matter to the side, at least for now.
At least when it comes to discussing it with your parents.

Adding that into the mix of any conversations you have with them just muddies the main issue, which to me is getting them to understand your struggles and that your psychological issues are also physical issues that are beyond your control.

(How you deal with them, you have some control over; but not having them in the first place.)

What will you gain out of therapy?

Well, HOPEFULLY, you will learn better ways of communicating with your parents.
You may get them to understand your position. That would be WONDERFUL!!!!

If, sigh, they still take the stance they now hold, then the therapy should help you better deal with their shortcomings.

Sometimes, parents will act the way yours are because they believe it reflects on them and their parenting techniques.
No child of theirs should be having any troubles and only a child who was 'raised wrong' would have the kind of problems that YOU 'claim' to have!!
They may be denying that your problems are real and nothing more than a bid for attention because to them it's either that or -- they screwed you up.

And that's the last thing that parents want to think!!!

Therapy can help you to see and accept 'bad' behavior of other family members.
It may not make your parents come around and realize the reality of the situation, but it can help you view things differently and in a way that is less hurtful to you.

You will almost certainly learn better ways of communicating with your parents and also how to deal with their attitudes in a way that will be much less stressful for you!!!

Good luck!!!! I really think things can get much better for you!!!

(((((Hugs)))))

Thank you everyone for your input. I am not in Therapy yet, but I am seeing my pdoc. It seems to help, but I plan to see a tdoc after my med combo is resolved. I just feel like there is no one in my area (all my family and all my friends who know are 3+ hours away). I just feel like no one quite understands what I am going through. I just want to know that there will be someone there if I need to talk when I need it. Someone who understands what I am going through; who has had the side effects of the meds, etc... Does that make sense?

That's what we are here for Bria ;). We understand! Hope you are able to build a strong support system and that you make DS a part of it. All the best and keep asking questions! xoxo