My brother's relapses are getting more frequent

Family
1

HEY:

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted.

Just wanted to say that my brother’s episodic relapses have been getting more frequent;

It has gone from every 2-3 weeks to several times a week for the past few weeks, including both days this weekend.

He says that he’s been taking his meds, but either they’re no longer working or he’s lying, which if he’s lying I know that’s a symptom.

It’s made me feel all sorts of very negative feelings;

While I do NOT want to kill or hurt myself in any way, shape, or form - I want to make that crystal clear,

You know how they say “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem?”

Well, what my brother has, his relapses and how he behaves during such, is a permanent problem.

And while I do NOT condone it and think it’s a bad tragedy when it’s done,

I must be honest and say that I do understand why the suicide rate of schizophrenics is so high, because it’s a permanent problem with no real solution.

A main way I cope when his relapses occur is to go to my condo complex’s clubhouse, which I did yesterday and today;

My brother’s relapse was such that I spent all afternoon there.

The reason why my brother’s SZ episodes bother me so?

B/C due to me being on the autism spectrum, I need to rest and decompress at home with the house being perfectly peaceful, tranquil, and quiet,

Which doesn’t happen during my brother’s relapses as I walk on eggshells around him, with seemingly everything I say to him being held against me and turning into an argumentative confrontation as he gets verbally belligerent, aggressive, abusive, and just a mean jerk.

Which is why I try to limit my interactions with him to pretty much zero.

As I write this, he’s pacing up and down the house and talking to himself as he’s done all day.

While I know he can’t help it and that it’s an SZ symptom, it sometimes makes me angry that he hasn’t done enough, i.e., see his doctor / increase the dosage on his medication so that his relapses lessen or even cease;

He’s told me that he doesn’t trust doctors and he has blown off appointments.

Ultimately, I’m at the point where I’ll eventually cut my brother out of my life - or to better put it, cut myself completely out of his life - when our mother passes away as I want to sell our house, split the $$$ two ways, and go our separate ways.

But until that day, I’m gonna continue to be unhappy and only feeling relieved when he’s in his bedroom when I’m home.

Does anyone have any other ideas and suggestions on how to deal with this?

2 Likes
2

I don’t have any help or advice…this is all new to me:(

I just wanted to say thank you for continuing to write and update! It helps me so much to not feel alone in this.

3

I’m sorry his episodes are more frequent. Does your mom have any say in his meds or making sure his meds are working still ?

I think your doing what you can which is leaving when he’s in an escalated state ,

My sibling was doing this so frequently my father was forced to move out of his own house the last few years of his life .

It was like living in a combat zone you could never fully relax it was so bad for his health .

I don’t believe at this point my sibling could live with anyone or should I say anyone could live with him .

He can still be around certain people for small amounts of time.

Even if it’s long wait what about getting on a housing list yourself sometimes spots open sooner. And then when it’s time selling the house and getting a place of your own ?

1 Like
4

I’ll look into getting on a housing list; I’m starting a savings thing where I put $$$ away each month for vacations and eventually to help get my own place.

And I DO want to sell the house when my mom passes away, which I hope is a long time from now; My brother & I would split the $$$ two ways and it would be plenty for each of us to get our own space. But it would take a while as my brother would probably be badly affected by it and would most likely be against selling; I would have to persuade him or maybe go to a lawyer of something like that. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

1 Like