Can anyone offer some wisdom?

[freethought]

About a family member who seems to be locked in a downward spiral.

I have an older brother who has been besieged by personal demons. Especially since the death of my father a little over two years ago.
There's more to the story but it would take too much time to explain. About 18 months ago he called me and my two sisters on the phone stating that this would be the LAST time we would EVER hear from
again. He called me not two days ago sounding strange and incoherent. You would try to talk to him to see what he needed or wanted and it just seemed to set him off. He made a number of threats, one of them violent.

My feeling is that I am seeing the beginning of the end when it comes to my brother's state of mind. We have long suspected that he has a full-blown drug addiction. I am not sure of what I can do.
We don't know where he is, where he intends to go, or how he is getting anywhere. Trying to reason with him just seems to fuel rage. One sister believes that the window where he could have benefited from any help has long passed and now it is just waiting for the inevitable conclusion.

It all makes me feel helpless but at the same time there is a certain ambivalence to the situation. My relationship with him has soured steadily over the last decade or so.

Anybody else has similar experiences?

[SoCalDemGrrl]

1. Sounds like manic depression to me. He needs professional help.

Try to get him to talk to a Suicide hotline. He must be feeling very alone

and a mental health professional could help tremendously.

[freethought]

2. If I could reach him I would try steer him in that direction

Our only clue to his whereabouts was that he was in Virginia and that he was heading back down south.
We are not talking about a young man. I am 40 and he has 16 or 17 years on me.
He has not attempted to call back.
If he does, I'll do whatever I can to keep him on the line and talking and hopefully get him to start something akin to a change in direction.