Question:
my brother is almost 30 and has a very violent past, fighting assulting people with weapons,ect. well since we were young he always feels free to beat on me when he is angry.he gets angry VERY easily,anything can set him off.well last night he called his girlfriend and said he was going to kill himself so i went over there to check on him.this made him enraged and he hit me several times in the face and head he then came over today and ran his car into mine.he has a history of drug and alchol abuse.our mother has mental problems too although non violent could there be something mentally wrong?and what should i do?
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Answer:
Yes, there could be and there is something mentally wrong. Your brother has a violent temper and is clearly dangerous. Given his history of violence I would have to say that drugs do not cause his violence but only make him more easily violent. There is no excuse for his behavior, not drugs, not mental illness and not anything else.
What you should do and what you should have done when you went to his house and he hit you was to call the police. This is something you can still do especially since he wrecked your car, according to what you report here.
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I am sure that it is difficult for you to think of calling the police on your brother but you will be helping him and preventing something much worse from happening. For example, with his behavior so out of control he could kill someone and got to prison for the rest of his life or even face execution. Even without any of that happening he is in danger of suicide. With a violent and drug abusing person like this the threat of suicide must be taken very seriously.
When you call the police you can tell them that he has mental problems and abuses drugs and threatens suicide. That will increase the chances that they will take him for psychiatric evaluation and possible psychiatric hospitalization. You can urge this when you call.
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Yes, your brother has mental problems but those are no excuse. The only way he will get help is if he is reported.
Good Luck
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