“There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.”
~ Patrick Rothfuss
My sister turned crazy when she was eight.
I don’t know if it was because of our financial situation, the sick violent relationship between my parents, the constant isolation, or the combination of it all that drove her out of her mind. Or perhaps she was just born that way.
I can still remember the first time she showed an unusual display of behavior. It was the evening we acquired an electricity connection and I was happily reading a comic book under the light when I heard her reciting a multiplication table from the other room. There was something that wasn’t right the way she was doing it. The tone of her voice for one, and she kept repeating the damn thing over and over again but mixing the whole thing up! I thought: what’s the matter with her?
The same day, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her posed over the sleeping body of our elder sister holding a scissor above her head ready to strike. I could understand. I could imagine myself doing it also for countless reasons but we usually don’t act the things we imagine, do we?
The next day, she came home from school crying hysterically, quite beside herself mumbling about some accident on a national highway, dead, mutilated bodies strewn on the road, things like that… The funny thing is: there was no accident. Young as I was (two years older than her) I knew for a certainty that time that she lost it.
And it never stops. Then there was a decapitated head on the bridge, an occasion when she rode on top of a vehicle naked and bleeding, she tried to kill herself by slashing her wrists with a razor I had to carry her all the way down from the attic to the hospital. And all that because a guy didn’t fancy her. And the time she was raving mad and climbed over the gate of someone’s house shouting the name of the sophomore (who turned out to be gay) whom I didn’t realize she was in love with but the boy didn’t know she existed and why he should? He belongs to the upper-middle class and from a prominent family in town, and who are we? In his eyes, we were just dust on the road. After the incident, more than ever.
Pity because my sister had and have still a brilliant mind.
She was a straight-A- student, even after that unfortunate incident with the gay sophomore, she finished the year with a gold medal. She is the most intelligent among us, the only one who has a magnificent voice she used to sing the solo in church and school choir. If I have a photographic memory, then she has the most advanced camera in her brain, the girl can recall every small detail of a long time ago which I have long forgotten. If I am a psychic then her power compares to mine is tenfold. Not only she can predict who is going to come on a certain day but she can tell you the exact time. She knows the name of every medicine known to man and can recite them in their generic names. I remember the time she went to a hospital and stole a lab coat and pretended she was a doctor. It took them a couple of days to find out the truth. She’s that good. She once worked in a law office as an assistant and she has no law degree or any education related to law. She attended high school only a year before they shifted her off to college and even there she excelled.
We tried to get her committed to a mental hospital but after every interview, the verdict was always the same: she’s not crazy but emotionally disturbed. She doesn’t belong to a loony bin. A fact she will gladly and readily use against anyone who dares to challenge her cranial capacity and state of mind. Whatever her real condition is, it hinders her to lead what society considers a “normal” life. She is not able to hold/sustain a relationship for a long period of time and take care of her children. She tried. Harder than any of us. She wants the kind of family we never had: functional, together, harmonious and loving. In the end, the continuous betrayals, the hard facts of life, the huge responsibilities of keeping a family proved to be too much for her; she left and lives a life of a drifter. She becomes homeless.
For some people perhaps she seems like someone who is a sexually delinquent person but the truth is she just wants love, attention, caring, warmth; all the things that have been denied to her all her life. My mother saw her as a nuisance, ugly (she doesn’t look like any of us and not charming but in my eyes, it doesn’t make her ugly) and always treated her with contempt. An attitude she extended to my sister’s children as well. I don’t understand.
For all the things she did out of the ordinary, there are two occasions that are engraved in my brain forever. One was when she jumped in pitch dark night into an excavation filled with coarse gravel straight through between barbwire fence and came out unscratched. The second was when we were in a bus traveling to the mental hospital and she squeezed herself through the window and jumped; landed on the highway, rolled over, stood up unharmed, and started running away. Sometimes I think, she’s blessed in some other ways.
I don’t know where is now. It’s hard to keep track of her when she’s always moving around. I hope she’s doing okay despite everything. I love her. She’s the best among us. Good at heart and innocent. Yes. Innocent…
Wow! This is very deep and sad. Mental ill health is never to be poohed at
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Yes. I wanted to write this for a long time but seemed cannot find the courage until now. Thanks for patiently reading it.
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You are most welcome and I say this with deep respect.
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Again, thank you!
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So sad to read this. I admire your courage for getting this one out on here.
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You know by now why I’m writing. To get rid of the pain.
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I know. All the more reason why I admire you
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Ability to accept praise and compliments graciously is not one of my forte. I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t dish them out easily either. Only if truly deserve.
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Very powerful, and a great choice of quote. I deeply respect that you were able to share such a personal story so openly and your love for your sister.
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Like I said before, the reasons why I’m writing are: to make peace with my past, to exorcise some ghosts and to let the skeletons out of the closets and let them dance naked once in a while. I appreciate the visit and the comment.
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Very honest and raw. You haven’t sugar coated it or made excuses. your love and acceptance for your sister shows. I hope she is okay too.
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There is no use bending the truth. I will only hurt and deceive myself by doing so. Thank you for reading.
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OMG! What a captivating story. I’ve had my own encounters with mental illness in my own family. I wish sometimes I could peer into there mind and take a look see.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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We can only guess what’s going on their minds. Pity we cannot do otherwise or we might be able to help them.
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Could be ? A … good post. I was married to a women who exhibited certain similar characteristics .. though, obviously, not even close. Still, enough to know there’s something not right in Gotham.
We all have a cross to bear and some are more obvious than others. Also some crosses, are heavier. Just give thanks and love each one, for who they are. Mind makes a good servant, but a terrible master …!
Best wishes, Cheers Jamie
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In my eyes nobody is normal. Not even those who conform to what society dictates.
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I always say we’re all normal and all eccentric. I think that’s another way of saying much the same thing.
It’s an inappropriate response but I love reading what you write (even if I came up with an appropriate one, I know it wouldn’t change a minute of what you and your sister went through). I hope writing helps.
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I only deem comments inappropriate if they are disrespectful towards me and the readers. Otherwise I respect other people’s point of view. Always.
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Perhaps I should have said it ‘seems inadequate’.
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I appreciate every thought and effort from each and everyone of my readers including yours. I’m grateful enough they give me some of their precious time.
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I cannot conform to what society says I should be. I am not a “normal” person. I never have been. People have noticed that since I was very young; they said my personality was “odd.” Later on, a doctor defined what the difference between me and the rest of the “normal” world was. The difference was Manic-Depression.
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My ex accused me of being like that. I’m just different. Like everyone else.
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Absolutely! If it weren’t for difference, I think things would be a bit boring.
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Hurrah for originality and diversity. We have to guard it to protect our core.
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I agree. It is our diversity and our differences that make us who and what we are. Of course, environment helps shape us, but that is exactly when you need to hold on to you.
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Only dead fish go with the flow 🙂
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I hope you found writing this post, which must have been hard, helpful to you. It is well written
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Yes. I write mainly to get rid of the pain, to exorcise some ghosts and to let the skeletons out the closet and let them dance naked.
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Poignant! Thanks for sharing…
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I appreciate you reading it.
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Thanks for sharing the story of your sister. I am the “crazy” one in my family as well so I really related to the way you described her. Technically, I am not “crazy,” but as you put it “emotionally disturbed.”
It is so hard to see a loved one dealing with mental health issues. Thank you again for sharing her story and for telling it through your perception of her. It is a little glimpse of what makes you a good person, as well. I think your compassion for your sister is very touching.
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I think given another situation and environment plus proper care and a new family, I’m sure she will be okay.
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Proper care and a supportive environment are vital from my experience. I certainly hope she will be fine. I have been in those shoes.
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I think it is a bit too late for her. Too much had happened, too many years had past. Too old.
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It is important to treat any type of medical issue or mental issue when it first appears. Things get harder to treat adequately as time passes.
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I just hope that she is safe and in her own way happy.
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Your writing clearly depicts your sister, your family dynamic, and most importantly, your continued love for her. I wish A lot of people could know their loved like that.
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I think love is the most abuse and taken for granted feeling.
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Unfortunately, that’s a sentiment I cannot argue.
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Movies, songs and plays are often based on this fact.
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Unfortunately, I find this statement hard to refute.
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We see it everywhere.
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I hope she’s okay and has found some comfort from the storms of life. It sounds like those storms hit her harder than most. Towards the end of my sister’s life, I think she lost her mind too. Evidence certainly points to it.
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What happened to some people sometimes goes beyond my understanding. Life is often too complex and unfair I don’t know what to believe anymore.
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you and me both, life is inexplicable. I’m not sure anyone ever understands because everything’s always changing just enough to make understanding impossible.
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I have trouble with injustice and unfairness of it all. It seems that good people always suffer more.
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Me too. I wish I could change that.
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If we only could…
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agreed…
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I hope she gets better and able to gain the strength to get through it. By the sounds of it youre a great help! Please check out my blog 🙂
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Thanks for the feedback. I”ll pay you a visit first thing tomorrow. It’s way over my bed time 🙂
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Thank you would really appreciate it!!
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