I am glad your Thanksgiving went well and am sorry your brother is struggling. A lot of people on my mom's side of the family are struggling but not getting help for it, including my mom. And I think my middle sister too. My sister has gained so much weight (she is morbidly obese), she must have a problem with binge eating. A lot of EDs are the result of abuse, usually sexual abuse, and her first major boyfriend in high school was a jerk even when other people were around, saying negative things about my sister while she was standing there. God knows what the private parts of that relationship were like. I have never asked her. It is probably best a topic to discuss only if she brings it up. And she went through boyfriends crazy in college (we lived together as she is around 16 months younger than I am, and we attended the same large university, where I am sure a lot of things could have gone on). So I think she must have some type of mood disorder since most people with eating disorders do. My mom needs treatment herself & will not take any medication for it.

I have to say it really sucks when you have a sibling struggling. I don't think my sister is BP, I guess she could be with the boyfriend of the week exchange in college until she met her now husband her last year there & they have been married longer than I have (mine is 14 yr), but I've never heard of her having episodes of mania beyond that. She could have hypomania though; there are definitely some things she goes way above & beyond, and I just wonder about it...how long it takes her, how perfect it is. I hope your brother is responsive to the SSRIs as well.