Parenting my parents.

Hello, ENA.

I'm a 42 year old, single, male without kids, and my parents are 78 years old. They will be 79 this year.

I've noticed that my parents are expecting me to provide things for them that they never provided for me.

For example, I grew up in a dysfunctional family where at any time, I was threatened by either parent that they would leave. I have never been able to go to either parent for comfort in my times of distress. My dad wanted to be uninvolved and my mom always turned my issues around to be about her.

Very recently, I got into an argument with my mom and she told me all she wanted was for someone to tell her things will be ok. You know what? That's what I always my mom or dad would say to me. So when my mom said that, I told her that everything will be ok. But I died inside. I tried so hard not to cry.

I am very lonely right now and I can not seem to get some comfort unless I try to comfort myself. I've been relying on alcohol and other stuff to comfort me. I know I'm going down a very dark path. My parents are old and I am concerned about their longevity. My mom has been sick and the doctors aren't sure why.

I have a lot of issues and I am seeing a therapist, but sometimes I feel like I'm losing control.

I've observed your threads over a long time and it seemed like many of your challenges stemmed from the hurts of your childhood.

How is therapy going? These are exactly the types of things you should be working through in therapy.