Posted by woolav on October 28, 2005, at 17:36:07
I have a brother who is like 20 yrs older than me. he was from my dad's first marriage. I have seen him over the years, ( i am 33 now and he is 50 something) but we were never very close. I have a real brother that is only 4 yrs older than me, so we grew up together, ya know..anyway. I saw my very older brother recently, and found out some very interesting things.
first, he lives in the same city as my elderly father and yet, when i talk to my dad, he says he doesnt see "gary" very often. I used to think, 'what a jerk, he is right there, yet doesnt spend time with our father who is ill and doesnt have alot of time left..' literally in the last 5 yrs, he has been to my dad's house 3 times and they live 15 min. apart...
well, turns out he has the same mental problems that i have, yet he never told anyone. Plus, he has been hiding it from everyone for his whole life. At this point, without meds or treatment, he is one step away from being a complete agoraphobic. we had no idea. I knew he had a problem with depression, and since i do too, i recently emailed him about it. but he didnt really say much back. but when i saw him, we compared notes and i realized that he is actually bp, with panic disorder, ocd and extreme paranoia. I am sure he has gotten worse over the years with no help. he is still at the point where he thinks he is just crazy and will never be right. but when i explained that i have the same things (except ocd) and that i took the step years ago to get help, i have come a long way.. I did tell him that he should see a pdoc, and that he needs to realize that its not going to be an overnight cure, and he may have to try dif. med combo's for years before getting it right. I just didnt want to lie to him. Does anyone know how else i should keep talking to him about this and trying to make sure he gets help. I just dont want to scare him off, if you know what i mean....
Its really been an eye opener to me to find this out after all these years. it sure explains alot..
Thanks
S
poster:woolav
thread:572789
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/relate/20051002/msgs/572789.html