I have always  tried  to talk about  the realities of having a family  member with  a mental illness as authenticly  as possible  When it comes  to Thomas weston Jr. ( my father  who died by in suicide  in 2012

The  truth is he wasn’t  a healthy  or emotionally  constant father even before  our estrangedment.  when  walked out  of my life abruptly in 2008.   .
I can honestly  say given what a know now about  the extremely  unhealthy family dynamics at play  coupled  with  the fact  that he wasn’t engaging in treatment  for bipolar disorder. 
It was absolutely   that right  thing to do to protect myself  from   him. Given  how  emotionally  unhealthy he was. .  Frankly  I am beyond  grateful  I did so. 

The sad truth  is he an exampe  of what I should  not tolerance  in terms how he treated women- I was even actually  told as much by my original therapist.

The reason I feel it is important  to share this  is because  his on side of his family there is extremely  deeply  rooted tendency  to present
situations or themselves  in a ways  that  are far from  truthful    I want to encourage  anyone  that feels it necessary to protect  yourself from a mentally il family  member ~ trust you  instincts
  Mental illness is an anexplanation ~ that in no way makes  the unhealthy behaviors ok.