How to live with a mentally ill mother?

I struggled a good part of my life being an only child with a schizophrenic mother and a father with narcissistic personality disorder. I believe he was a large reason my mother broke down so badly. I put up with a lot of verbal andv physical abuse from my mother. My father was very neglectful when I was a child. Today I don't feel like being around my mother. I don't miss her and that's how I truly feel. I don't miss my dad's narcissism because it's toxic to me. I don't try to live up to what others think I should be doing. It's my turn to finally have a life free from abusive sick people. I have been in psychiatric therapy for 6 years and this is how I feel.

The question here is if you are the only child and there is nobody else to support her. If so, you need to find other people to support you and her. Supporting her means helping her when there is help needed and making her stand on her own feet when she would rather not work on herself. Which means: Don´t try to be overly responsible. Think about YOUR mental health also. You still need to be able to have a life, pursue your dreams, be active in your freetime and meet up with friends.

Reading this thread has me heartbroken. My mom starting acting strange about 6 years ago. She would talk about aliens and the new testament and have all these conspiracies. The she’d blame my dad for moving her out of a place that she actually complained about for many years. She has called me and alien and robot. Earlier this year for a couple months things were “normal” she was quite overbearing but I didn’t mind because she wasn’t having any paranoid episodes. Now that I’m off to college she’s gotten worse, she’s basically mute, hardly uttering more than a sentence when I ask her questions, she sleeps in another room from my dad, a month ago she took a hammer to his car windshield (no severe damage actually just some cracks but still just the action in general is scary) and she seems to be smoking cigarettes. I don’t know what to do, my dad is over it and just lets her do whatever, I’m worried for my little brother’s safety. I don’t know how to get her to the hospital/doctor for treatment for either her mental illness or the smoking (she is always coughing).

give her all the love you have, watch TV with her, feed her, take her to the park, just spend as much time as you can with her because you only have one mother don't give up on her

That's up to you... Some people grow apart. Others grow together and support each other through the difficult times. It's up to you to choose what is best.

Please look after her as if she is your child who wants your care . Dont get irritated or frustrated with her deeds. Be patient in her matter and deal with extreme care.

It won't be easy, but the first step is understanding what she has been diagnosed with. My mother was diagnosed with major depression and her way of coping was by being an enraging alcoholic. It wasn't easy for me to deal with her episodes, they took a toll on me, and lead me to resent her at a point in my life. Eventually, with the help of counselors, I realized that I could not feel this way about something that she herself is battling with. I educated myself on what my mother was dealing with and whenever I felt overwhelmed I stepped away from the situation. There were times I had to remind myself that sometimes her actions are not intentional. Later, I tried to encourage her to do the things that she loved by assisting her and not pushing her so hard. I had to realize that it was not my responsibility to make sure she gets better. However, It was important that I played a role in the process. RECAP 1. Educate yourself on the diagnoses 2. Search for a support system for yourself 3. Play a role in helping your mother improve her cognitive abilities but do not strain yourself if you do not see progress as soon as you hope.(Somethings need to be left to the professionals)

I have lived with a mentally ill mother for several years now and it can be challenging. Learn strategies to deal with the bad days and learn to embrace the good days.