"As young carers, they felt disconnected from their parents' compromised behavior, and the heavy weight of coping with it by themselves. They at once loved and resented having to take care of them. One participant shared: "I hated to spend all the time caring for my father, accompanying him, having no 'me time'. I still loved him, enjoyed the closeness with him, never wanting to lose him, even if he was so dependent on me.""
"This theme speaks to the great lengths participants went to to hide their parents' mental illness from the outside world. As children, it was an unspoken rule that they should uphold the secrecy around a parent's illness for fear of social stigma; they also feared being separated from their family if they sought outside support. A participant recalled: "Nobody at school knew about my family's situation. I had never finished my paper in which I was supposed to introduce my family"
Nineteen participants who cared for an unwell parent during childhood completed semi-structured interviews focused on how they felt about the unwell parent and how they coped while providing care. Narrative analysis identified three overarching themes. Childhood Lives Falling Apart captured grief over loss of parental normality, strained parent–child bonds, disconnection from compromised behavior, and simultaneous love and resentment toward caregiving responsibilities. Being an Invisible Carer captured extensive efforts to conceal parental mental illness because of social stigma and fear of family separation, including avoiding disclosure at school and refusing outside help. The findings portray heavy emotional burden, role reversal, and isolation experienced by young carers.
Read at Psychology Today
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