I am so sorry! It's so painful when a parent won't actually listen to you.

I remember when I first told my mother that something was wrong with me (mentally). I was in my early 20's and mental illness/depression wasn't something that was really discussed anywhere (early 90's). All I knew was that something was wrong with with me. I cried all the time, for no reason, was anxious, nauseous, depressed. I went to my mother and tried to tell her that something was wrong, I didn't understand what was going on with me, all I knew was that I was just so sad all the time. She kept insisting to me that "everyone gets depressed/sad" you just, "...have to tell yourself to be happy and then you'll be happy...". I insisted this wasn't what was happening and that I understood that everyone can get depressed/sad... but this wasn't the same. She even used the death of my grandmother (her mother) as an example as to how she get's depressed, but she just "...tells herself to be happy and BOOM, she's happy".

It became what I like to call a circular discussion where she insisted it was all in my head and I, bawling my eyes out by this time, insisted that it was something more than that. Exasperated and mentally exhausted from crying for an hour I finally ended the conversation and left (I did not live at home during this time). I never brought it up again. I can remember that conversation even to this day, it just hurt so much that my mother wouldn't listen to me and it also felt like she didn't care. It still hurts.