Ditto all of the above.
I have daughter in her 40’s still at home with us, faded completely with me over the last few years. She has never had drink/ drugs problems, just extremely low self-esteem and absolute lack of confidence. Hardly surprising given the peer pressure, bullying and lack of concern or even friendship from witnesses in various congregations we were in.
Husband in his 80’s still PIMI, but has never given us any emotional support at all, I am just grateful he got a full-time job, worked hard and got a small pension which keeps the wolf from the door as they say. If he had listened to the super-fine elders that counselled him about missing meetings due to doing overtime, we would be living off government hand-outs now. ( two or three at least of these elders are now millionaires, but we got accused by them of being materialistic?!) (sad thing is, at the time, I agreed with them) Now of course, I just have to find a way of living with the guilt and angst of decades of denying my lovely daughter all the things she had a right to expect from me.
Due to spending time money and energy on the ‘more important spiritual things’, we went without holidays, birthdays, Christmas, education and all the rest, - find myself swinging between thoughts like, ‘wish I was dead’ and ‘ let’s try and make up for lost time’, but find little respite from the fact that not only wasted my own life but probably ruined that of my dear child. (Also, her employment opportunities are not great)
Here in the U.K. we are pretty limited as to mental help, unless you have a GP who is sympathetic and will get you referred.
I believe many who visit this website have the same issues outlined here, even if they never comment.
It is just sad, so if any of you have the answer, please let us all know.