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Thank you. My brother’s experience was terrible and was dreadful for us all.

I think you’re right. ADHD and maybe some undiagnosed mental illness (which honestly, runs through my mom’s branch of the family tree).

Our mother is very pushy and overbearing to us all. Very controlling. Genuinely thinks she is in charge of everyone and I can see how it can be damaging to a person. I think my brother’s problems made him more susceptible to this.

My brother had a good family support system so he would have never been alone and abandoned. Lots of problems that he should have tackled head on. In retrospect, he retreated to highs relatively early in life and that left a tremendous mark and influenced his adulthood.

My brother made lots of decisions that put him on that path. He was nasty and hostile to me in particular. He’d routinely go through my stuff, my computer, my emails, whenever he had access. If I ever slipped up and left money around, he’d steal some.

It was so reliable that I knew to keep my money close to me at all times, but every time that I slipped up he’d steal from me. That showed me that he would constantly go through my stuff whenever had had a chance. If I left money unattended, there was literally over a 90% chance he’d steal some.

I remember being amazed at how matter of factly and casually he’d have to have checked for money in order to steal from it so reliably.

He was very closed. Didn’t talk much. Walked around almost in a daze. I have guilt for not doing more. I confess that he was so nasty, hostile, and so difficult to reach that I’d checked out. There’s the vague sense that I should have done more but intellectually, I can’t think of anything I could have done because he was so negative towards me.

Thanks for the kind words. His experience is a terrible thing for himself and for all of us. I wish no one would endure it.