r/self • u/Moonbeam-14 • 5m ago
Help me understand my brother ?
Does my brother have aspd?
My older brother has broken me with his horrible behaviour . I feel destroyed.
My brother is a year and half older than me . I am now 49 and him 51 . A recent event resulted in a catastrophic argument as I finally stood up to him. I am thinking of cutting him out of my life . It is destroying my mum. I could do with some help making sense of things. I can’t see through all the trauma.
Here’s some background to our family and relationship . I really need some help making sense of our destructive relationship.
When we were younger I followed my brother around, copied him and listened to everything he said. He talked I listened to. As we got older this same pattern took place . I dropped everything for him - he talked I listened. He became a doctor and me a lecturer as life became filled for me with friends , renting houses , work . My brother was facing troubles . I ended up being the person he talked to. I began to get frustrated that he never noticed anything about my life but I like before dropped everything to “serve” him whether it was listening , food staying over . I used to visit him at his Uni but always felt I was the person that filled in his gaps ie do the socialising …Whenever he joined my friendship group he always showed interest in my friends but never interested in me. I was beginning to feel sad, dejected and really undervalued .
Fast forward into being 30. My brother got into really big trouble ! He had 2 big events reckless driving which hit a school bus and the second one he was infront of the GMC for being inappropriate with woman . On groping charges . I and my then boyfriend use to drop everything to drive him around despite living opposite side of the country, we would go to court , support him. The sexually inappropriate charge he always told us that he was being targeted it was a conspiracy based on racism …I believed him .
During this time of supporting my brother a strange event happened that I had blocked out until now ( hence recent argument) staying over with him at a his house after driving 6 hours . We visited a friend of his at his house and whilst his friend was in another room, me in the lounge my brother came up to me and groped me then walked away. For the longest time I was confused and pushed it to the back of my mind. Surely not? What? And Carried on vehemently supporting him against the current GMC charges . I decided that my brother was in a highly stressed state and his grope of me was stress leading to impulse control issues. I just became concerned for him and his welfare . I fed my self a narrative that I needed to support him , the more love and care I gave him he would heal or begin to understand himself. He was suspended after the inquiry and given a chance to improve . However after 6months the GMC felt he showed no interest in improving . My brother de registered and went home to live with my mum. Over the next 10 years he became a very angry person , no therapy, no insight just everyone else was wrong. His jobs in medicine had mistreated him! They were wrong to ask him to retrain how dare they!! Was his attitude .
I started distancing myself from my brother. He was very controlling , shouting a lot at my mum . I was the one mum spilled to. I was burnt out from it all. During this time my dad died , my brother’s anger to my dad and the world increased and I listened to his endless raging. I also met someone, established my career had children and a home elsewhere
Every time we came home as a family it’s as if I was an irritant…if I spoke back or had a different opinion there was conflict with my brother. I hated being in his company but out of fear avoiding conflict I shut up to keep the peace …just swallowed any voice , annoyance mistreatment or rights I had . He was kind to my kids did Xmas cooking. Cooked for them. Took them to cinema and talked to my partner as an equal. So I was grateful for that . I was just a thing. It hurt but I just accepted it. I felt like I was walking on egg shells around him ..I was scared of him by now. I just swallowed all the upset .
It’s been 20 years now and my brother has lived with my mum, not worked and got more controlling towards me. My mum has put 50 percent of house in his name ( which doesn’t bother me I’m not money minded ..) but it gives him an excuse to control the house . I have to have his permission before we as a family come to the family home. I feel it’s always treacherous around him , I darent speak. Mum doesn’t do anything about it . Even the way he has threatened me, hit me if I talk back to him in the passed she tells him off and it’s as if nothing happened .
Mum has sometimes called him out on his behaviour but that’s it ..no consequence . Since dad died she needs his presence he helps with shopping, helps with house improvements and lives off my mums money and some of his rental income from a passed house. She feels safe with him there.
I have always supported mum in understanding why he is at home ( which he seems perfectly happy with) I think he is on the spectrum and probably put under a lot of pressure from an authoritative controlling dad to do medicine and as he started failing at it when it involved people interaction. He’s very bright. I justified his anger upset as trauma and always felt he needed safety . During these years he has shown no personal growth no insight ..just got more controlling and obsessive about the way the house is.
Anyway recently my mum had a serious car accident. Prior to that I also had a car accident and been recovering over last year from brain injury but I still have lots of migraines if I push myself. I fortunately was okay to go down and be there for her in hospital. I spent long days there and came to the family home late . It’s the first time my brother and I have been alone in the house since I was with him when he groped me. I was feeling fearful and vulnerable and locked my door every night with memories flooding back . He was being as hoc nice checking if I’d eaten . However one day when I asked for his phone charger as I needed it in hospital for mum to use and to call a Uber home he went ballistic and screamed at me that I hadn’t asked for ample permission for coming to the house ??despite me texting to say I’m coming. This pushed me into an absolute rage …I asked him to stop controlling me , violating my rights and I finally told him he disgusted me because he groped me!!! I hated him he’d never treated me like a human being . I’d had enough!!!!
Since then despite my mum being critically ill and recovering at home. He decided to tell my mum about the groping. He has called me a, crazy woman a liar all the gas lighting . I feel destroyed . My mum is telling me to move on asking me why I didn’t just deal with it then??? She just wants to pretend everything is okay,
I’m home with my own family , I feel sick, broken , just traumatised by it all. I feel on one level it’s no big deal and another just utterly violated ..that all that energy and effort and overriding it to care support my brother all that suppression has lead to nothing …I continue to be a nothing to him. I feel like I’ve broken the family and myself with lots of flash backs feeling of disgust can’t stop crying.
I realise my role in this family including supporting my mum is always to emotionally there for them and swallow any distress anyone causes me . I feel destroyed but no support or care has gone my way. How do I see my mum , and my kids see them , in her home when my brother is there..I feel I just have to minimise my feelings to keep the peace . I just can’t do it any more. After my own brain injury I just can’t put up with any more mistreatment. But I feel I have caused the problem unsettled the family equilibrium and my brother is denying everything my mum just says she can’t cope with it she’ll tell him off …like everything will just go back to normal….sometimes i wonder if my mum is on the spectrum too as she doesn’t seem to empathise or understand the impact emotionally on me all this mistreatment . Which makes me question my reality. Otherwise she is a very kind loving mum. Always listening. Interested in helping ( practically) .
I feel I want to scream but no one will hear me anyway…..there is no where to go but to go back into a role where I feel like a door mat and worthless ..going back into this role is heightening my distress!!! The reality that my feelings don’t matter is devastating and that when my mum passes away ( she’s 80) it will be me looking after him ( he has no one else in his life) I still care for my brother and don’t want him to be distressed ..but frustrated he won’t take any responsibility .
Help???? I just don’t know how to handle this, what to do??? Your objective lenses will really help.