How responsible do you feel your parents are for your mental illness?

Clearly your parents are responsible for your possible physical and mental Illness. In any case you cant spend the rest of your life blaming them for your recovery. This you must do. Follow the advice of your doctors and thearipist If your seeing any whom knows your best Interest. Remember complete recovery lies In you moving on with forgiveness to them and healing through your on recovery. They cant do that part for you. You have to do this part for yourself.

I don't blame my parents for any of my mental illnesses. I think that everything that's wrong with me is pretty much my own fault.

Well, to some degree parents play a big role. I'm sure abuse and neglectplay a part in exacerbating underlying chemical imbalances. It no doubt caused yout PTSD. But a parent can't "cause" actual physiological chemical imbalances like bipolar I don't think. It's a mixed bag. Certainly abuse victims are more prone to having emptional and mental issues and less equipped to handle them. But people who grew up in a healthy environment also come out with mental illness as well. So, I think it really comes down to how much is chemical and how much is the result of trauma.

I think that any mental imbalances very often have at least some roots in parental behaviour, even if it is not as extreme as some traumas that you mention. But our relationship with parents is so important that even small things can cause serious issues later in life if they coincide with some sensitivity, or mental illness. It's something to bear in mind that some mental illnesses (like Bipolar Disorder) are considered to have a genetic component, and so that makes it all the more likely that there will be parental imbalance to further trigger and worsen any inherited problems that their children may suffer with.

I don't blame them. In my opinion, I have a brilliant mind, after all. I've got no mental illness, though. Sorry about your problem...

My hubby's psychiatrist says there are more than 400 brain chemicals and most they hardly know anything about. What I do know is that unless the person takes responsiblity for getting better and taking charge of their own life, such as takin g their meds. as they should and working hard, especially when they don't want to, then they won't get better. I battled back from abuse too...and abused kids often grow up to be more understanding and commpassionate adults than non-abused ones. But first you MUST forgive and second you must be responsible for you and get as many of those 400 chemicals going right as possible.