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What happens when you are a teenager, your sibling starts to psychologically unravel, and no one explains what’s happening to you?
In this shocking episode of the I See Glass Children podcast, Alicia sits down with Todd Richardson, an adult Glass Child whose older brother developed schizoaffective disorder during adolescence. What followed were years of psychosis, violence, chaos, fear, and isolation that shaped Todd’s understanding of safety, relationships, emotions, and himself.
While his parents focused on his brother’s illness, Todd was left trying to make sense of a world that no longer felt safe.
He learned to monitor everyone’s emotions.
He learned to make himself smaller.
He learned to anticipate disaster before it happened.
And like so many Glass Children, he learned that survival came before everything else.
Today, Todd gives us an unfiltered, raw peek into what it was like growing up beside severe mental illness, the hidden impact of sibling trauma, the complicated role of rage in healing, and why many Glass Children spend decades searching for the safety they never had as children.
Content Note: Violence, emotional neglect, substance use disorder (drugs and alcohol)
This is Todd’s story.
Welcome to the I See Glass Children podcast.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
- Growing up with an older brother who developed schizoaffective disorder
- Early warning signs of severe mental illness
- What psychosis looked like inside a family home
- Living with violence, unpredictability, and fear
- Sharing a bedroom with a sibling experiencing psychotic symptoms
- Why Glass Children often become experts at reading emotions
- The connection between childhood chaos and adult hypervigilance
- How trauma changes your definition of danger
- Why many Glass Children struggle to identify their own feelings
- The role of alexithymia in high-needs families
- Rage as both a survival tool and a healing obstacle
- The lifelong search for safety after an unsafe childhood
- Parentification and the burden of managing everyone else’s emotions
- Why surviving childhood is not the same thing as learning how to live
- How writing, therapy, EMDR, and community helped Todd begin healing
- Why fun, joy, and play are often missing pieces in recovery
Connect & Engage
Ready to join the movement? Here’s how you can help break the silence around glass children:
- Subscribe to the I See Glass Children Podcast on YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it and tell them, “You have to hear this.”
- Visit https://iseeglasschildren.com and subscribe to Behind the Glass for exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes content, and a special PDF with tips for helping glass children.
- Spread the Word: Share this episode with your bestie, your therapist, your teachers, your minister, friends. Sharing is caring—and hearing is healing.
REMEMBER:
If you’re struggling, reach out to a mental-health professional. You do not have to do this alone.
Thank you for listening to the I See Glass Children podcast.
I’m Alicia Meneses Maples, and I see you.
Produced by: Brewing.Media
Dedicated to: My Daddy. I love you with all my heart forevers.
Special thanks to: BlueHair