I mean, the mother says it’s because he’s been medicated since he was five and she wants to see who he truly is and get a thorough evaluation, which I understand. But still. I know from experience that the right medication can change your life. It’s unnecessary to suffer for so long. I hope the eval comes soon and he can be started on something, anything to start to take his pain away.

I hope he's evaluated soon, too.

To me, to deprive someone of needed medication is the same as torture. When I was growing up I was severely depressed and anxious, no one would have taken me to get a psych eval because of the secrets they were hiding in the family. I vowed never to do that to my own children. My daughter had crippling anxiety & we opted to put her on meds when she was 11. It gave her a life. I would watch her and think, wow...if I had been on meds when I was a kid my life would have not been so hard.

When my mother dies everything goes straight in the trash. There is absolutely nothing there that is of any sentimental value to my brother and I. Our childhood was miserable. I don’t want to be reminded of it in any way, and I’m sure my brother feels the same. A few years ago I went through all the physical photos (don’t know where those have ended up) and salvaged all the ones of my father and my brother. I put them in a collage frame as a gift for him. I know it means a lot to him. My nana had boxes upon boxes of photos that my cousin is currently digitizing and then he will pass them out to the appropriate family members. I will pass all the ones of our father onto my brother, and probably just stick the rest in a box somewhere for My son when he’s older. I don’t want to look at them at all. They hold no joy.

I'm sorry, wfc. I know where you stand...I've been in that place. It was very painful. You certainly have my support.