Please Help - Bipolar brother

[k4mi]

Hi,

My brother (33yrs) was diagnosed as Bipolar type 2 a couple of years ago. He has suffered with severe depression, paranoia and alcohol issues since aged around 17 so a very long time. He is taking medication although when on a drinking binge (frequent) often forgets them.

He has lived with my parents on and off throughout this time. When living alone he is frequently very depressed and going off on wanders / being bought home by the police etc etc and so often ends up moving back to my parents.

My parents are quite literally killing themselves by dealing with his behaviour. My mum has breast cancer and heart issues and it is taking it's toll hugely on her as my brother has been becoming increasingly abusive towards them (mostly towards my father).

Today my mum called the police because my brother had started to get aggressive (also drunk) when in a manic episode.

What I want to as is where can I get help for my parents and broother. They need an intermediary who can come in and explain what options for care (or help?) my brother and my parents have. They can not go on looking after him and dealing with aggressive outbursts every few days. They are also paying for him and he is not receiving any benefits/housing assistance despite generally being unfit to work.

I really don't know where to turn for them. He goes to GP, has seen two psychiatrists (who say they can do no more) and has taken several different drug combinations which don't yet seem to work. I personally feel he needs to be removed from the situation of living with my parents for a while but trying to tell him this and offer somewhere safe for him to go seems impossible.

He has a couple of friends but obviously they do not want a drunk 32yr old staying with them and their family. I live away from them with a young baby and have no space for him to stay and quite honestly don't want him here around my daughter as he is unpredictable and at times unstable. Of late he has been telling my mother he wants to drink himself to death.

Does anyone have any advice of where we can turn for help (physical intervention)? We can pay if necessary although you would hope there my be something available via social services?!!

[Yourefired]

Hello, my DB has bipolar disorder type 2. The main support he gets is through the CMHT (community mental health team). This wonderful support (who in our case look at the whole family's needs as well as DB's) was accessed following my DB being sectioned on an involuntary basis under the mental health act. Up until this point my DSIL (a little like your parents perhaps) had been "covering" for him. Unfortunately it took a catastrophe before help was accessed.

To try to avoid a catastrophe I would contact MIND and take their advice as to how to get to this support (I understand anacdotally that it varies from area to area so have little advice on your situation). You can also make an appointment with the GP to discuss the situation, and try to make them understand that it is reaching crisis point, and that a referral is required.

Good luck. It's a terrible illness. And as hard as this sounds protect yourself so that you're still there for everyone.

[k4mi]

Hi Yourefired,

Thanks for this, I have just caled their local social services and someone is going out to assess the situation, I really hope something gets done and they can get some support.