I debated Monday sending my brother an e-mail to say thank-you and I am sorry for things that have happened in the past. I had all sort of things I wanted to say. All of them sounded good. But my brother is narrow minded and works with the mentally ill and ppl that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. He is not a doctor he is just a therapist (not a psychologist). He thinks he knows everything about me ... about my mental illness... even tried to diagnose me with borderline personality disorder...I went right away to my doctor and asked him to be totally honest with me and not sugar coat things with me and he said that parts of my bipolar 1 disorder affect my personality and they way in interact with my environment and ppl.

My brother has said the following things in past e-mail in addition to diagnosing me with various disorders:

> he doesn't desire my company
> he feels at peace when he isn't around me or doesn't have to communicate with me
> he doesn't share the same level of affection or love that I have for him
> he wants distance from me

In addition, he cannot get over things I said to him when I was very ill like saying I tried to kill myself because of him. I have apologized and explained myself till I am blue in the face.

Lastest news on my brother is that he has a new gf what else is new he always has a gf. When he has a gf his whole world revolves around her (her needs/wants) and family comes a distant second or last on his list of imporant ppl in his life.

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So if I were to compose an e-mail to my brother who is 35 years old, what exactly would I say to him that would "get through to him" and not cause him to reply with hurtful and angry comments?