|
|
Post by Shane on Jun 26, 2003 8:46:27 GMT -5
I picked my older brother up yesterday from the hospital. He was in respite for 4 weeks. He has a severe form of HD and he physically attacked his mother and me.
I'm glad he's back. The house seemed incredibly empty without him. His consultant has upped his medication. Hopefully, it will stop him lashing out in future.
My brother is only 3 years older than me and we did everything together as kids. We have always been close. We went to the same schools, played for the same footy teams etc. I was wondering what sort of relationship you all had with you sisters / brothers aunts, unlkes...?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mildman1 on Jun 26, 2003 14:57:38 GMT -5
Shane, first can I say that I'm largely ignorant in terms of what you and your brother suffer from, but of course I hope things can improve for both of you.
Regarding my sibling relationships, I have two younger sisters, and although we all got/get on, I don't think we enjoy the closeness of relationship that you and your brother seem to have.
I have read that the gender of your siblings and how old you you are in relation to them can affect things like shyness. Apparently, my situation (only male with 2 younger sisters) is one in which shyness is more likely.
Also, I've read that, not surprisingly, giving birth to the first child is the most stressful for a woman, and her body transmits this stress to the child, which is likely to make he/she more prone to anxiety than later children.
Not saying there is a direct connection but my sisters are both generally outgoing people, whereas I've almost always been quite shy and anxious.
|
|
|
|
Post by urbanspaceman on Jun 26, 2003 15:02:13 GMT -5
I'm not really close to any of my relatives outside my parents, my brother and 3 sisters.
I get on really well with my youngest sister as she's only 2 years younger than me. I'm 7 years younger than my next sister, so when we were young it tended to be the 3 older siblings against my younger sister and me.
My youngest sister and I are close I suppose because we are very similar people, we were always around each other as kids. Plus when my parents weren't getting on (vast majority of the time), we just hung around together to try and block out the rows I think. She helped me a lot in that way and I hope I helped her a bit.
Shane, I can recognise the obvious bond you have with your brother in me and my sister - the close age and doing everything together as kids. I definitely think I'm lucky having such a bond with my sister, as a heck of a lot of siblings don't get on at all.
I can't personally relate to your brother's HD, but I can definitely relate to missing a brother or sister when they're not around. My sister went to university in America for 4 months last year, and I wasn't prepared for how much I would miss her. I think it's true that you don't really sense the bond you have with someone till they're not around. It definitely made me more appreciative of my family on the whole.
|
|
|
|
Post by Twice-Shy on Jun 27, 2003 9:35:15 GMT -5
It really is amazing how much you miss people when they're away for a long time. I have one younger brother as well who is 8 years younger than me. We live in the same house but there is not the same closeness as there is between myself and my older brother. We get on well but thats it really. Both my older brother and myself were born in Derby in England. My younger brother was born in Belfast and it shows in his personality.
|
|
|
|
Post by moogle on Jun 27, 2003 17:14:55 GMT -5
i have two older brothers. one is 7 years older than me, and we get along very well. i wouldn't really call us friends, but we have some stuff in common and we get along very well. my other brother is 10 years older than me, and he's a control freak and i don't like him.
i only ever see one aunt because the rest and my uncles are spread all over the states, europe and the middle east. she's a very cool person, and she doesn't have any kids, which is great b/c i only like a few of my many cousins.
|
|
|
|
Post by spitzig on Jun 27, 2003 18:27:00 GMT -5
I've got two sisters, both younger. One is a year and a half younger. The other is 8 years younger.
I can't stand the one that is 1.5 years younger. Never had anything in common with her. Also, she never shuts up, and she speaks very loudly. So, whenever I'm around her, I have to listen listen to her talk constantly about things I have no interest in. She's got 2 daughters(the second as of yesterday). I'm hardly ever going to get to see my nieces, because they live in San Diego, I live in Harrisburg, PA, and my parents live in Alabama. I'm never going to visit my sister, so the only time I'll see my nieces is when my sister is visiting my parents. And, even then, I get tired of hearing her after about a week.
The other sister, I like. She came and visited me for a few weeks last year. She was considering moving in with me.
I've got tons of cousins. My family in Tennessee is a mixture of white trash and redneck, so I try to avoid them. That's only like 5 cousins, though. That's where I lived from ages ~10-24.
I like most of my family on the other side, but they lived in Illinois, where I lived most of my life until ~10. I have no idea how many cousins on that side. My grandmother had 9 kids, and most of them have several kids, so it's a LOT. I've got one uncle who is generally a really good guy on that side of the family, but is a bigot in at least two ways. And, another cousin who seems to be generally a jerk. I don't know that side of the family very well, anymore, though. I've gone to visit one uncle that I'd barely known who lives in San Francisco. I've found we are really a lot alike. He's not shy, but he's a computer geek, a programmer, into science fiction, religion, opera. Also, he's introverted and has a similar sense of humor.
|
|
