So here is what Cassie Mae at Reading, Writing, and Lovin' It has to say about her cosponsored Blogfest:
Every great story has great characters! So this blogfest is designed to help us flex our character writing muscles through three separate blog posts.
As I mentioned, this Blogfest is being cosponsored, and so Cassie Mae is working with Angela Cothran at Live to Write...Edit When Necessary Please go and visit either of these ladies' sites via the links I've provided to read all the juicy details and join!
Now for my confession...
I've mentioned before that I REALLY hate mental illness, you can read about it here and here. Somehow my life seems to be consumed by it at the moment. In my last post regarding my brother, I discussed his willingness to admit he needs medical help. He has been staying at our home since then! That brings the cacophonous ridiculousness of my condo to seven residents; Hubby, Archer Girl (my daughter), Archer Boy (my eldest son), Lil' Demon (my baby), Mother (literally, my mom), Diva of Darkness (me) and now add Crazy (my brother). All of us in a 1600 square foot, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom condominium. All I can say is Holy Shit and Hairy Balls!
I am a mother of three with one demon-possessed 18 month old still at home (I can't afford to send him to daycare, or I TOTALLY would!) and now I am having to drive my brother to AA meetings and counseling sessions and food stamp offices and welfare departments and this and that...it really is never ending.
So when I sit in with him at an appointment and he begins to explain how
he isn't schizophrenic because the voices in his head only tell him
"GOOD" things - well, it is very hard to nonchalantly pick my jaw up
from off the floor, dust it off and then reattach it. Wha-Wha-
WHAT??? YES. He has voices that tell him things. Things to
do, things to say, how to act, how to react; but EVERYTHING they tell him is
for his benefit. So he's not crazy, right? In fact, he believes
that these are spiritual beings of some kind and they are encouraging him to
stay true to his "path of spiritual warfare" and to "keep his
armor on at all times" because he needs "to bring the wrath of GOD
down on everyone that doesn't believe in him". Really. I'm not
kidding. By the way, the therapist couldn't really get him to solidify
his meaning when he said "believe in him", like HIM as in GOD or him
as in himself?!?! I think he started to realize that saying you are
Christ might get you labeled "CRAZY", so he just ignored the
question.
He's working the 12 steps, he's going to counseling, he's got an
appointment with the county mental health office to see a psychiatrist at the
end of this month...but I still question whether he REALLY understands that
what goes on in his mind is not normal. I'm still waiting for the other
shoe to drop, because it always has in the past.
So all of that leads up to my confession - I don't trust my brother to not
be playing me for the fool...again.
Posts
I don't know why this didn't show up in my Blogger feed. Blogger sucks about that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's hard for people to accept that what they're doing isn't "normal." Like when I tell my sisters having 23 cats isn't normal they don't listen. It's hard for people to accept their faults.
And yet, he appears so normal...
ReplyDeleteHopefully, this time he'll get the help he needs.
Wow, that is tough.
ReplyDeleteDo you think your brother is maybe faking it? Kind of sounds like it at the end. I've had relatives like that. (Note the "had." I don't associate with them anymore.)
If he's NOT faking it, you're doing a great thing by helping him out, especially at great cost to you, but remember to keep you and your kids safe. Mental illness is nothing to mess around about, and when helping someone the first rule to remember is The Drowning Rule: You can't help someone if you put yourself at risk.
I hope he gets better, and I hope that your life settles down. Here's another thought: five years from now, you'll look back on this and likely think "Man, I don't know how I got through that." But you will have.
@Grumpy: I wish it was just cats I had to deal with! Although...the smell is probably atrocious; much worse than my brother - he can always just shower...hmmmm.
ReplyDelete@Liz: We will see...
@Briane: Thanks for the Twitter shout out and thank you for the kind words. The situation equates to a steaming pile of dung; but it's my life! ;)
My mother hears voices...some good, others very bad. I think I've probably ranted about this. Schizophrenia is very very real. And the people that have schizo do not think they are crazy. They think they are perfectly normal. My mother goes so far as to tell me she is blessed. Whatever. She needs to be committed. I'd do so if I had power of attorney.
ReplyDeletewhether he's playing you or not really doesn't matter. you have taken him in and given him hospitality. if he can't 'get better,' he still will have benefitted from living in your home, sounds like. hospitality in one's time of need is the most profound gift we can offer other human beings, no matter how long or short that time may last.
ReplyDelete