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GetRidOfThem

(869 posts)
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 09:52 AM Jan 2017

I grew up with a psychotic brother....

...One of the first things my therapist, when I was a teenager and I had to deal with the fallout, told me: "Psychotics tend to enforce their own version of reality on others. They cannot be wrong, and therefore they need force their own reality onto everybody else."

He threw tantrums, always got into fights, thought he was superior. There was no freedom around him. In then end he was out of our household...

Just mentioning my own experience in light of what is going on since January 20....

15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I grew up with a psychotic brother.... (Original Post) GetRidOfThem Jan 2017 OP
Thank you cyclonefence Jan 2017 #1
This is very relevant for the US's situation with tRump. VespertineIconoclast Jan 2017 #2
Narcissistic injury, followed by narcissistic rage. See this link: highplainsdem Jan 2017 #3
welcome to DU. nt LaydeeBug Jan 2017 #4
My brother and I have occasionally been hospitalized for psychotic stuff... hunter Jan 2017 #5
I have a brother who very much reminds both my mother and I of Trump. Ms. Toad Jan 2017 #6
I have been saying exactly this for over a year. nt Javaman Jan 2017 #7
We do not choose our genetic family. saidsimplesimon Jan 2017 #8
Where is your brother now? Archae Jan 2017 #9
In Transylvania, Romania GetRidOfThem Jan 2017 #14
My SIL is the same age as Trump HockeyMom Jan 2017 #10
Excellent turn of phrase... 3catwoman3 Jan 2017 #11
Truly sorry about your brother. nt. NCTraveler Jan 2017 #12
Depends on the psychosis Warpy Jan 2017 #13
Co-morbidity... GetRidOfThem Jan 2017 #15

cyclonefence

(4,483 posts)
1. Thank you
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 09:54 AM
Jan 2017

for sharing this. It is helpful to know what probably must happen on this larger stage. Trump is simply going to have to be put out of our national household. It's no good trying to work with him; he just has to go deal with himself on his own terms.

VespertineIconoclast

(1,130 posts)
2. This is very relevant for the US's situation with tRump.
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 10:28 AM
Jan 2017

tRump by definition appears to be delusional.


Definition of delusion
1
: the act of tricking or deceiving someone : the state of being deluded < … accused the Bohemian of having practiced the most abominable arts of delusion among the younger brethren. — Walter Scott>
2
a : something that is falsely or delusively believed or propagated <under the delusion that they will finish on schedule> <delusions of grandeur>
b psychology : a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary <the delusion that someone was out to hurt him>; also : the abnormal state marked by such beliefs


Additionally, he appears to be narcissistic which in itself is dangerous. Here's an interesting perspective of a therapist on tRump's behaviors. http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/01/a-therapist-attempts-to-explain-trumps-behavior-so-far.html

Thanks for sharing your experience.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
5. My brother and I have occasionally been hospitalized for psychotic stuff...
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 11:34 AM
Jan 2017

... but we tend to be quite affable, or so people say.

Our madness is probably inherited from our grandma. She could be really mean and judgmental. She was not a functional human being outside her work. Amazingly she retired with a good pension, but without the work to keep her anchored she fell apart and eventually had to be removed from her home as a danger to herself and others.

My siblings and I grew up as semi-feral children, no strict house rules but "You broke it, you fix it!" and the expectation we'd look out for one another. If we broke something we were generally given some guidance how to fix it.

It seems the social environment mentally ill people exist within, especially the environment they experience as children, has a strong influence on how the illness manifests itself. The Calvinist Protestant culture of the United States is very judgmental and hard on people with mental health issues.

Other cultures are much more accepting of madness, some even regard it as a mysterious gift, but probably not so much if the person is violent or otherwise dangerous.

Anyways, my own auditory hallucinations are fairly benign, and I don't feel I have to listen to them. On the other hand, I don't feel I have to listen to people in the real world either. Nobody *tells* me what to do, not the voices in my head, not the people I interact with. And I have no interest in telling other people what to do, or controlling them in any way, up until the point they become a physical danger to others.

Trump is a physical danger to others, in terms of his potential to start wars, overlook police violence, and deny people the necessities of life which include safe shelter, nutritious food, appropriate medical care, and good educations.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
6. I have a brother who very much reminds both my mother and I of Trump.
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 11:44 AM
Jan 2017

They both live in their own little reality, were very adept at doing what is needed to take advantage of the moment, at finding and pressing the butons of anyone who opposed him, and damaged others in ways they could not even see since their focus was solely on "ME-ME-ME-ME." When you call them on it, they profess complete innocence - in part becuase they have no ability to envision any perspective other than their own.

saidsimplesimon

(7,888 posts)
8. We do not choose our genetic family.
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 12:46 PM
Jan 2017

I forgive my siblings as they were never exposed to my life experiences. We can not change our genetic profile. Great teachers can show US the path to enlightenment, politically, socially and morally. imo, as always

GetRidOfThem

(869 posts)
14. In Transylvania, Romania
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 05:54 PM
Jan 2017

I am not making this up.

When he visited me last, before he went into a psychotic rage where I was afraid he was going to set the house on fire, he brought me a vampire (instead of Russian Royal Guard) nutcracker. I am not making this up!

(We are an international, or as W Bush would say, "innernationtioal" crowd: One brother in Romania, another in Berlin, a mother in Bonn, a cousin in Cape Town, South Africa, and another cousin in Thessaloniki, Greece!)

 

HockeyMom

(14,337 posts)
10. My SIL is the same age as Trump
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 01:10 PM
Jan 2017

She has (rare) Frontal Lobe Dementia. We started noticing something wrong about 2 years ago. She would pick a fight with anyone and everyone over very minor inconsequential events. Always right. Her way or the highway. Then she would not remember the things she said. It progressed to the point where it was not just an argument with others, but physical attack on family, and even strangers. She also racked up huge credit card expenses for only 2 certain items, and would forget she even bought or had them.

There are many forms of Dementia and her's is a rare form. No, not everyone with Dementia will be like this. Basically, her brain cells are disintegrating and when her involuntary bodily function brain cells are gone, she will die. No cure.

Even apart from Trumps inherit personality traits, his anger issues over inconsequential issues (voter fraud caused him popular vote, extreme anger over it, insisting he is right and everyone else is wrong, etc., reminds me a lot of my SIL. Again, they are the same age. My SIL's condition progressed very rapidly. Imagine all the stress, etc., a President would experience?

3catwoman3

(23,813 posts)
11. Excellent turn of phrase...
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 02:24 PM
Jan 2017

...in the article with the interview of the psychologist -

"Truth is the narcissist's Kryptonite."

Does the DSM V have a code for flaming asshole?

Warpy

(110,903 posts)
13. Depends on the psychosis
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 05:13 PM
Jan 2017

I found the best approach was to tell the truth, that I couldn't see or hear what they were seeing and hearing. Telling them it wasn't real didn't help anyone, it just made them defensive.

I don't think Trump is psychotic. I think he's a raging narcissist and he could well be in the early stage of Alzheimer's, his dad started to develop it at about his age. The fact that he's profoundly ignorant and a sucker for supermarket tabloid level "news" combines with this to give him the appearance of psychosis, but I haven't seen any real evidence of it.

None of them makes him an appropriate president. The sooner he is removed, the better.

GetRidOfThem

(869 posts)
15. Co-morbidity...
Thu Jan 26, 2017, 05:58 PM
Jan 2017

Who said a psychotic cannot be a narcissist, and vice versa? Just comparing notes...

I think DT was lucid enough to make it through the electoral cycle.

So was Uncle Adolph in Germany.... He was also obsessed about coming to power "legitimately", though he butchered rivals in his own party before being elected...

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