Please help my mother is crazy?

I really need some advice on how to handle the situation with my mom:

I am 16 and my brother is ten. He is severely autistic and she takes care of him most of the time. He isn't an easy kid and I know it's hard for her, but her behavior has gotten crazier and crazier over the past month. She has been on medication for depression for years. She is a really good mom, but I just think the situation is out of hand at this point. She was always a bit of a germaphob, but now she has become obsessed with bedbugs. She is scared to death that we're going to get them. Her fear is completely irrational and extreme. She makes everyone take their clothes off before we walk into the apartment because she's scared that we will bring bedbugs in. Also, I got back a few weeks ago from a month in China. Any other mother would be super excited to see their kid after that amount of time away. But the first thing my mom does (she wasn't the one picking me up from the airport) is yell at me on the phone to wash all my clothing at my grandparent's apartment, even the clothes i didn't wear because she was terrified that i would bring back bedbugs from china.



She is also really like emotionally fragile. Today she came home holding a few slices of pizza so I was like can i have one? and she said no they're for your brother. So i asked why she didn't call and ask if i wanted one. And then she just lost it entirely. She went off yelling about how i'm so selfish and mean to her and i expect way too much for her that she shouldn't have to bring me home food and that i should have already eaten lunch. When i told her that i didn't eat yet because there was no food she screamed and ran into the kitchen to prove me wrong (i was right there was no food). then she just got angry that i was right.



She has really bad mood swings one minute she's happy and smiling and the next she's yelling and crying. Everything sets her off and i really don't know what to do about it. Whenever i talk to my dad about it he's like yeah i know your mother's crazy. And I'm like so why don't we do something about it. But I think he's just as clueless as i am here.



I can put up with her its not exactly easy to live in the same house as her but I can tolerate it. For my brother though, i dont' think she's a good influence when she looses it. He needs stability and love and her mood swings and temper problems don't exactly fufill that need.



Any advice is really appreciated. I don't really know how to handle her anymore.Please help my mother is crazy?
Sounds like psychosis, she needs to see a psychologist asap. At a minimum she needs a break from the home situation, and probably medications. It's really common for delusional/paranoid people to flip out whenever anyone suggests therapy because they feel it's you that's wrong, or something else, not them. Sounds like she's either bipolar or schizoaffective. She might just need her medications adjusted, since antidepressants are well known to make psychotic symptoms worse, especially with no antispychotic included in the mix to balance things out.



You actually don't need to have her agree to see the doctor if she's this bad. You can have your dad or someone else you trust take her to the hospital, where she will be evaluated and most likely held and treated. She might be mad for a while after she comes back, or really sad, but if she doesn't go most likely she will just get worse. You're right, having her act like that around your brother is not good, and might get pretty dangerous. Also, you and your dad should look into therapy, because you have to be under a ton of stress. Might be good to find someone to talk with that will just listen. Also might be a good thing to find someone else to help take care of your brother if at all possible.
I think she may need to go to some counseling.Please help my mother is crazy?
You need to google counseling services and your mother needs an evaluation for what they call serious mental illness. I think you could just google like "mental health services for low income" or "serious mental illness" and your city name. You can also check the NAMI (national association for mentally ill). I am not joking about this. Your mom needs an evaluation. If you find the information, please call someone and see if they can schedule a evaluation. You can email me with more details if you need more help. If it is determined by a doctor that she needs meds, there are programs that can pay for them if she cannot afford them. I am not a doctor, but it sounds as may have schizophrenia and definitely may need to be evaluated by a doctor. It is controllable but she would need to see a doctor and continue with medications in order to be stable.
Honey, sweetie, you really shouldn't say that she is "crazy", or "mad", or "insane". From what you've just described, it sounds like she really does need help. You need to show her love, affection, care, tenderness. I also suggest that you go to BBC iplayer and watch this video about teenagers who care for their mentally ill mums. They had to cope with severe mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective(a combination of both bipolar and schizophrenia). Whether your mum likes it or not, she needs to see someone who can help her. A psychologist, therapist, counsellor. She needs to; whether she likes it or not. She can't keep lying to herself. If she talks to someone she really can get much better. She's alos emotionally instable. Sounds like obsessive compolsive disorder and bipolar disorder. You also mentioned she has depression; it's probably gotten much worse. I don't really know to give a diagnosis; I'm 12! Anyway, if she continues like this she will get put in a psychiatric institution. You also mentioned your brother suffers from severe autism; she is setting an extremely bad example for your ill brother; even though she's ill too. Please take the advice. Luv ya honey!!Please help my mother is crazy?
First of all, you should be happy you went to China or some place where you eat bed bugs, instead you got to eat Chicken Fried Rice, Kung fu chicken, and Wan ton. your moms fear is quite rational, bedbugs are a large nuisance in New York, if your not scared of bedbugs then you should go roll around in a parking lot, where bedbugs drive BMW's. Hallelujah