@hopeful33250 You are so correct, saying that untreated mental illness in a family is devastating to everyone involved, not only the person but all family members connected to that person. My mother was mentally ill and was treated for it in the very archaic methods used back in the early 1930s. We never knew anything about it, even our dad who was married to her for 53 years. He found documentaion after her passing in 1996, and went to her sister to ask about it. Even afterthat amount of time there was refusal to acknowledge it. There was always a suspicion but she was very good at masking and leading a double life in that respect. Over the decades I have watched my little sister with her mental health challenges, again untreated, and the problems it has caused her in her life. Like @gailb I had to cut her out of my life and not really acknowledge her because I cannot afford to be caught up in the issues that her disorder brings. It is not an easy thing by any shot of the imagination. But I am grateful for this Mayo Connect forum, learning how to deal with all of this and recognizing in myself that it is a survival tool for me to stay off of the roller coaster of depression myself. Thank you for being here.....
Ginger

Teresa, sometimes there is only hope. Sadly,in many cases, healing is not possible.