"God, I hate those books about how much of a stronger person having a brother with a mental illness makes you. When I started working, I would give Mom money sometimes to help with the younger kids but she would give it to him. He was older than me. Why wasn't he working? Because he was on drugs all of the time, that's why! Since he died, I have read some books about how people with schizophrenia, I guess that is what he had, self-medicate. They use the drugs to try to help them cope with their mental illness somehow. When he killed himself, a lot of the relatives said that at least he wasn't in pain any more. I really honestly think Mom was relieved. I know I was relieved. She is an old woman and he was taking all of her money and God knows what he could of done to her when he got in those moods where he thought he was God knows what." - Sister of brother with schizophrenia
One resource for siblings such as the sister above is SIBNET - this is a listserv for brothers and sisters of people with disabilities. A listserv is similar to a forum. (Click here for our Spirit Lake forum if you are not familiar with forums.) The difference is that with a forum you go to the website and read what people have written. With a listserv, what people write about their brother, sister or parents shows up in an email to everyone on the list.
SIBNET is part of the Sibling Support Project, which we consider the best resource on the Internet for brothers and sisters of people with disabilities. They even have a section for younger kids.
The Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) in some communities also offers programs for siblings, especially adults who are looking at the possibility of becoming the caregiver or legal guardian for their brother or sister. The ARC has 850 chapters, so the odds are good that there is one near you.
NEXT: Substance Abuse and Disabilities