Reply to Siblings with mental health, addiction, and personal issues

Forum Index » Family Relationships

Reply to "Siblings with mental health, addiction, and personal issues"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am that sibling. I have mental illness. I am held at a distance, made fun of, and dismissed or challenged when I say anything factual. I love my niece and nephew, but should probably try to love them less so it doesn't hurt so much that I am kept from them. We live 20 minutes away from each other and I've seen them twice this year. [/quote]

What is your role in this estrangement? Why did your siblings decide to keep their distance?[/quote]

Well, I have always been the Problem in my immediate family and nobody cared about my mental illness beyond whether or not I was well behaved, so that's how my brother views me. That's how he talked about me to the girlfriend who became his wife, and she's very much a "Stand By My Man" kind of woman, plus I'm poor and she's very rich so she thinks I'm classless and tacky. Oh plus I'm fat and have horrible skin and hair so she views me as ugly and messy. One time we went for a walk through a city and then sat to eat pizza outside, and my frizzy hair was frizzing as it does and messy, and my brother was all "Are you okay, you seem to not be taking care of yourself?" because the wind and sweating made my hair look extra awful.  One time when my niece was an infant and I was over visiting she asked my brother if he smelled something. They made a big production of agreeing they smelled something awful, checked her diaper and determined it wasn't her and then stood silently staring at me. My brother has taught his kids to make fun of how I sneeze (it's a totally normal sneeze). I could go on and on. [/quote]

What is your actual mental illness? [/quote]

I have untreated ADHD and wasn't told until I was graduating from HS that I was diagnosed as depressed (also untreated). THen at 19 I found out I have a bunch of severe learning disabilities. As if that's not enough, I wouldn't be surprised if I was on the autism spectrum (probably what used to be called Aspergers). So in sum, I have a bunch of things, none of which are treated at all. [/quote]

Maybe you can find other kids to enjoy and help. I would try to have fun with your niece and nephew when you can but find a way to fill the void that you feel is left without being around them. [/quote]

Thanks for the idea - I'm not really interested in babysitting or anything for kids I'm not related to. I DO try to have fun with my niece and nephew - much easier with my nephew. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics