Common App Essay

I'm currently in the process of writing a few different drafts and a bunch of ideas for my personal essay. I've come up with a few ok ideas that do showcase who I am, but I feel like something is missing. I feel like the best and most character defining qualities I have come from my childhood experiences. I grew up with a mother with mental illness, something she still struggles with. This experience with her has built lots of my perspectives on life and qualities like compassion, understanding, empathy, and resilience that I take a lot of pride in having. For this reason I feel like I should try writing about this aspect of my life, but lots of people say to not write about another person in your essay, or a family member that has affected you. What do you guys think?