My work colleagues keep saying that I should leave my mother and home, that I won't ever have a life if I keep to this path. I guess they're right in some ways, but also what do they know? Their idea of "living" is getting drunk every Friday and watching reality TV, struggling to stretch their paycheques to the end of the month to keep their rent paid. I know the importance of independence, and I know that staying with a terminally depressed divorced mother who spits non-stop negativity 24/7 is doing irreparable damage to me psychologically in terms of my self-confidence and adult skills, but what else can I really do? She's alienated so many people because of her own mental problems that I'm the only one who still tolerates her, and even then on most mornings when she rants at me about something insignificant whilst I'm hurriedly brushing my teeth for work I'm repressing the urge to tell her to get a fucking grip and appreciate what she has. It's mostly due to cowardice and the economy but a not insignificant part of it is the sense of responsibility I feel considering she raised me. "You owe her nothing and aren't responsible for her mental health" they say like they heard on social media, and once again yes, I see where you're coming from, but you're also being very reductionist there and not seeing the image in full. What are we without family? I owe her plenty, she's ultimately a good person deep down, and you don't have to particularly like someone to love them. What ever happened to a sense of familial duty? Is that just not a thing anymore? Must give them the ick or something.