I've been in a relationship with my girlfriend for 4 years. We've had some great times as well as scary times. Our first year she hid her problems well and I had no idea what she was really going through. Eventually I came to understand that her family life was broken and she is suffering from depression.

Her father is diagnosed with cancer and her mother is seriously ill. They've hated each other for years but will not get a divorce. They are constantly fighting and neither playing the role of parent. This has effected my girlfriend tremendously and she has a very bleak outlook on her life.

For the past three years I have tried to be supportive and she has leaned heavily on me. She talks about suicide when she's very depressed and very rarely, about 3 times, she has scratched her wrist and taking a handful of herbal sleeping aids. Each time she comes up from these lows we talk about how she needs to seek help, but later she denies that it was a serious attempt. If I persist, she gets even more angry and asks how she will get the money to pay for it.

I really want to help her, but I'm not sure that I can. And this whole relationship has turned into a misery for me. I care very much for her well being, but I don't see an end in sight. The problems in our relationship have been put on hold since this all began. Even bringing them up could cause her to immediately become depressed. I feel that if I were to take a step back from this relationship, she may lose control of her life.

She is at a very critical time in her college career which will determine her future and her mother is in the hospital. None of her family are there for her emotionally. Her parents only care about their own problems and don't even act surprised when she mentions suicide. I feel like a terrible and selfish person for even thinking of leaving her, but I am not happy and this has had a terrible effect on me personally.

Andy