Anger Issues

 

I believe my sister may have an anger problem. She can be violent and I have scars on me from where she has scratched/pinched me. Today we were going out to see my cousin off to prom but she wouldn’t get up and get ready (she had just got back from a school camp) we kept telling her she needed to get dressed but she refused so we left without her. We then received several text messages of her asking where we were, which she knew. We went to pick her up as we were going to the pub with the rest of the family after. When we got home she refused to leave and was screaming and shouting at us. It got quite scary at some points and my mum didn’t want to leave her on her own so we ended up staying at home. She is controlling our lives and I’m starting to really hate her, me myself struggle with anxiety and early in the year I did have a few suicidal thoughts, which hardly anyone knows about and this is really not helping me. She just shouts and screams and I am generally frightened of her. I don’t what I should do because she just doesn’t listen. Even my best friend has told me that she can be violent because she always hits me quite hard, I do hit her back but not as hard and its always jokingly and she knows that. I’m starting to wish she would just leave us alone and go live with my dad.
What should I do? (From the UK)

A: You list your age as 15, so I think the most immediate way to get help is to talk to your school counselor about what’s going on at home. You may also want to talk to your dad about this, if he can be open and available to you. If either of your parents are willing, let them know you want to go to therapy. The fact that you’ve had suicidal thoughts means that you want to deal with this sooner rather than later. You don’t want to stay stuck in a situation where you are having such difficult thoughts and feelings.

Wishing you patience and peace,
Dr. Dan
Proof Positive Blog @ PsychCentral