Domino effect: When kids’ mental illnesses worsen, their parents' fall ill

Masters spent about US$22,000 (RM102,000) last year caring for his teenage son Braylon, who has bipolar disorder. — Photos: LISA KRANTZ/KFF Health News/TNS

AFTER HER teenage daughter attempted suicide and began to cycle through emergency rooms and mental health programmes during the past three years, Sarah Delarosa noticed her own health declined.

She suffered from mini strokes and stomach bleeding, the mother of four in Corpus Christi, Texas, said. To make things worse, her daughter’s failing behavioural and mental health caused Delarosa to miss hours from her job as a home health aide, losing out on income needed to support her family.