I can imagine few things more stress-inducing than being connected to Amy Winehouse in any way, shape, or form. Just owning one of her CDs raises my blood pressure significantly. So imagine what it would be like to be Amy’s poor father Mitch. The taxi cab driver has been a constant at her side. He’s managed to be there for her, though he doesn’t seem to be an enabler.

He has said publicly many, many times that Amy needs to clean up her act before she dies. And by most accounts, he’s done is best to look out for her. But it seems the stress is really starting to get to him – Mitch was hospitalized last week over it.

Dealing with a rebellious daughter can take its toll on any parent, but when that daughter is Amy Winehouse, the parent’s survival comes into question. Amy Winehouse’s dad Mitch collapsed and was hospitalized last week, according to Britain’s The Sun newspaper. Mitch, who has attempted to keep his troubled daughter at home following her hospitalization for an emphysema-like condition, has been suffering from stress-related panic attacks, a friend said.

Seemingly unfazed by her father’s illness, the Grammy Award-winner was back to her usual antics last week. The singer was photographed with a white substance in her nostrils following a weekend DJing gig and was spotted smoking a cigarette at Scotland’s T in the Park festival Sunday night – despite her father’s public warnings that smoking can kill his daughter thanks to her poor lung condition.

“Mitch isn’t well,” the friend said. “He has been taking a lot on and has been dedicating himself to trying to improve Amy’s health. But his own health has suffered as a result. She told him not to worry about her – but that’s easier said than done.”

[From the Daily News]

I feel so badly for this guy. He’s constantly photographed accompanying Amy to various clinics, rehabs, and court. He seems to have been walking a very fine line between trying to help and support his daughter while not enabling her. And he’s been doing it for a long, long time.

Mitch wanted to get Amy sectioned (similar to institutionalized) last year to force her into rehab, but was unable to do so against her will. The Daily News makes a really good point – it really says something terrible about Amy’s character – or the extent of her addiction – that the toll it’s taking on her father’s health doesn’t seem to bother her. As devoted as he appears to be, this might be an indication that Mitch needs to step back and not catch Amy every time she falls.

Here’s Mitch Winehouse taking Amy to the Guanabana restaurant in London on June 8th. Images thanks to WENN.