I just heard my parents talking about divorce.

Today I overheard my parents talking about getting divorced. I had to ask my mom a question but as I left my room I heard my dad telling my mom to divorce him if she was unhappy. He said that he was putting in a lot of effort throughout their struggles but he wasn't feeling valued. That was all I heard because I immediately started crying and quietly went back to my room.

I am 17 years old and I have a younger sister. I knew my parents didn't have the happiest marriage but I didn't (and still don't) know the extent of what was happening. They have been together for about 25 years. Both of my parents, but especially my dad, suffer from depression. He is on medication for it but I still fear for him and worry for him. I have depression as well, and it's been especially bad these past few months as I deal with my own relationship on the rocks.

I know people always say that it's not the kids fault when parents get divorced but I feel like it is my fault. When I heard my dad say he feels undervalued, I realized that I could have been doing more for my parents. I don't disobey them and I get good grades and everything but I always feel like I could be doing more. I think my parents main problem is communication, as they will frequently tell me about their problems with each other, but I don't think it's in my place to give my parents relationship advice. What sucks is that my parents are AMAZING as parents. They are reasonable, they are understanding, they listen to us, they help us, and basically do everything a good parent should do. I could not ask for better parents. It's sad to think that they are such great parents with great relationships with their kids, but not a good relationship with each other. I don't want my parents to get divorced, but ultimately they have to decide what's best for them. I don't want them to stay together and be unhappy just for the sake of my sister and I. If they would be happier apart I would do my best to be happy about the situation too.

I just don't know what I can do to help the situation. As of right now, they don't know I know, but I am just trying to be as helpful for them as possible. I don't need to add more stress to an already unhappy situation. My boyfriend and I are long distance at the moment, and we were planning on him visiting this summer for about a month. I am going to ask him to postpone/cancel the visit because I don't want to stress my parents out. On top of that I am going off to college in the fall and that certainly won't help my parent's stress.