Lyn’s Story

I haven’t seen my brother for 15 years. He hasn’t met my children who used to ask about him and wondered why he never comes round but are gradually losing interest and rarely mention him now.

The real sadness for me is that I know he is lonely.

He has dis-engaged from our family and I know that he has poor mental health, but it is undiagnosed. He won’t seek help and he won’t see us, so we are locked in this situation where my mum has lost a son and I have gained a feeling of resentment, burden and ultimately sadness. Being a sibling to someone with mental health problems is not often spoken about. We don’t really want to bring it up all the time; when I have spoken about it a common reaction is pity, the kind of pity that says ‘poor you, there’s obviously something wrong with your family’.

It is really important to be able to talk to other siblings and hear their stories.

Being part of Sibling Link means that I can share my feelings in a safe space with other people for who don’t think it’s strange or due to some kind of failure.

– Lyn from Brighton