Wow, I hesitated to comment here! First, I'm sorry to hear about the family's situation, which you've described. On the other hand, I admire your work and willingness to deal with such unique clients. You know, the problem with mental health issues is that they don't seem to have definitive cures; they can only be managed with medication. Perhaps the mother's case is the most manageable. In the past, those who experienced extreme mood swings were called lunatics. And her deranged son was called insane (psychotic).
My aunt Elena, who died at almost 100 years old, had a major headache with her eldest son, who survives her. Enrique, her firstborn, now elderly, lost his mind in his youth after a village brawl. According to the psychiatrists who treated him, it was to escape guilt and reality. I remember that he used to disappear for weeks and months at a time. My cousins were looking for him, and on more than one occasion, they found him outside the region, thinner than a stray dog, even though his parents were among the wealthiest in town. Yes, these illnesses don't discriminate between rich and poor.
So, with that image, I can imagine the torment those you serve endure.
Sometimes I reflect on this and thank God for keeping me sane. Although the saying goes that we all have a little bit of madness in us. In any case, I believe that investing attention and effort in the spiritual, in nourishing the soul with good things, in combating the negativity that seems to dominate the world, could help to care for and maintain mental health.
Meanwhile, take care of yourself, because, as my father used to say, the world is full of madmen.
Greetings.
Yes, there probably is some madness in all of us, it's all perspective after all. One man's normal is another's crazy. For some reason I'm reminded of a man who used to be in my sister's class at school who apparently became something of a hermit. With us being communal creatures normally I guess hermits would always have been considered to be a bit crazy. Sadly this man died a few years ago of cancer and I think it was a few days before they even found him passed away in his home. He would have been late 40s.
That's sad to hear about your cousin and, as you say, a good illustration that social standing and wealth are no boundary for these things.