How do your parents react to your SA?

I was curious as to how everyone's parents react towards your SA?
In my case, they learned about my various problems (SA, OCD, paranoid thoughts) when they went to see my therapist a couple of months ago.
After the session I was expecting a ton of questions but they asked nothing, it's like they thought my problems weren't real or they just chose to bury their heads in the sands and act like everything was normal...

My dad's been supportive. He's allowed me to work for him in a way that doesn't require face-to-face interaction with people, and he's often encouraging with regards to getting help and dealing with my problems, so I'm grateful for that. My mother on the other hand tends to think it's just an excuse. She's always been very sociable and has often used people for various things, so to her, it looks like I'm just after an easy life. I once overheard her talking to my sister, and she was pretty disparaging of me and the whole SA thing.

My father doesn't believe in mental illnesses and my mother is a nurse so she believes in them. My mother seems to care about my illnesses but often tells me i shouldn't have diagnoses or labels which i find crucial to be able to treat any of the illnesses.

Pretty much the same. I think everyone who hasn't been affected by SA can't understand it. Its pretty frustrating because most people treat it as if it isn't real.
My parents have been supportive but because I haven't whined for like 2 years they thought I wasn't suffering.

BlackKids said:

Pretty much the same. I think everyone who hasn't been affected by SA can't understand it. Its pretty frustrating because most people treat it as if it isn't real.
My parents have been supportive but because I haven't whined for like 2 years they thought I wasn't suffering.

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Yeah exactly, one friend once told me "it's all in your head, you should just think more positively, you should take a chance and talk more." If only it were that easy ...

misterF said:

Yeah exactly, one friend once told me "it's all in your head, you should just think more positively, you should take a chance and talk more." If only it were that easy ...

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I know its all in my head thats the problem lol

misterF said:

Yeah exactly, one friend once told me "it's all in your head, you should just think more positively, you should take a chance and talk more." If only it were that easy ...

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Punch them, then when they say "OW" say "well GEEZ I don't see any pain, I guess it doesn't exist!"

My mom's lived with me my whole life & gets it, for the most part. I explained it to her two or three years ago. Before that, she just thought there was something wrong with me (I was just mean or something.. turning down family functions & other things, etc.). When I was nineteen she had a stroke & I had to start taking care of her. Before that, she was always yelling at me & on my case to get a job. Since then, though, & especially since the stroke, she hasn't really pushed the subject. She hasn't even asked me why I've never dated or anything, which I think is odd.

My dad, on the other hand, has been much worse. He doesn't/didn't live with me & didn't understand the extent of my problems. From the time I was seventeen, he was seriously on my case about everything. Once I turned eighteen, he was on my case about getting out of the house (with my mom), since he never thought she was a good parent (mainly because she didn't have money, like he did). We had a huge falling out when around that time & I refused to see him for two years. When we saw each other again two years later, when I was 21, he was married to a wife who has been a blessing for our relationship. She keeps us from arguing by keeping him calm about things & off my case. Once, when he started on me about why I still wasn't in a relationship & had no job or anything, she said "give her time," which I know is a very simple thing, but it worked. It's also odd, seeing as how I'm in my twenties & have had plenty of "time" lol. He hasn't brought it up since, though. He even says he's "proud of me," though why, I don't know. He still doesn't understand at all, but he's at least more accepting of me.

never told them & never will...and so far they don't suspect a thing , I'm kind of good in faking being normal, I sometimes even surprise myself ....

Kinetik said:

My dad's been supportive. He's allowed me to work for him in a way that doesn't require face-to-face interaction with people, and he's often encouraging with regards to getting help and dealing with my problems, so I'm grateful for that. My mother on the other hand tends to think it's just an excuse. She's always been very sociable and has often used people for various things, so to her, it looks like I'm just after an easy life. I once overheard her talking to my sister, and she was pretty disparaging of me and the whole SA thing.

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Pretty much same here.
I'm highly thankful for my dad, even though he is only "partly" supportive.

My parents don't know. My mom knows I've been to a psychologist, but she doesn't know what the problem is, not that if she knew she would understand as I did tell her before I was afraid of my classmates etc etc, and she was just upset and blamed me I guess. I was in school up till 18 and then I started having problems, that year I turned 18, I attended one school for less than 3 months probably, and then stopped schooling for a year, and then went back to another school at 19 for like two weeks and then completely lost it and wasen't able to go back to school anymore. Basically, my point is, for like 5 years of my life, with the exception of the 3 months 2 weeks where I actually did something, I did NOTHING with my life except stay home, and my parents actually DIDN'T care, and then, I woke up one fine day and realised I wasn't getting any younger and I had to do something for myself, make a life for myself because my parents obviously weren't going to help as they simply did not care, I mean if they did, they would have done something, I mean if your daughter doesn't do anything for 5 years, isn't it a huge red light something is wrong with her?! So basically, i knew I had to depend on myself and I actually summon up the strength to find myself a job. I don't do anything outside of work except stay home on the weekends, but it beats staying home everyday and watching tv, eating and doing nothing at all.

My parents don't understand about SA they just think it lazyness by not going out and speaking to people. There always on my back how I have no friends or social life.

they kind of understand what problems I have, but they dont know everything. Been supportive tho

At first they didn't understand why I was acting the way I was. We'd have arguments and my Dad, in particular, was a big jerk. Let's face it - I wasn't normal. And sometimes abnormality scares people.
My Mum had me see a psychologist and we were soon enough given the diagnosis. Mum has been pretty understanding and supportive because she had to face a lot of the things I do, simply because mental illness can be and is genetic. My Dad, however, still doesn't really understand me, but he's over it by now.

Anh, I just recently confessed. My mother was very defensive, because she thought it might be her fault. Funny enough, after the therapist I see had a session with my mom, the therapist said my mother revealed a few things that indicated child abuse because of her anger problems. It was a huge surprise that she came out with it. I would have never opened that can of worms. You cant change the past. She thought the things she did to me as a kid were ok (like pulling my hair out), because she was angry and wasnt responsible for what she did when she was angry. So im not holding my breath for any heartfelt apologies

My parents force me into my feared situation. In my opinion it just makes the anxiety worse in the long run. But I'm sure that some sort of therapy would be beneficial for me. There fed up with my disorder.

My father has the emotional IQ of a toddler, so he's useless; my mother on the otherhand understands a great deal, she herself had agoraphobia for two decades.

My mother is convinced it's all a form of depression. She's a die hard advocate of "exposure therapy" to solve any social problems that arise from being a shut in, which there may be some wisdom in but it has obviously not worked for me so far. I've told her it's the other way around, that the depression is a side effect of the anxiety, but she doesn't see it that way.

They dont react..cause they dont know.