How to handle anxiety attacks and an epileptic person?

Question

Hello doctor,

We are a family of four which includes my father, mother, sister, and myself. My sister suffers from epilepsy and takes medication daily. I can understand that it makes her angry, but she beats my mom for no reason. My sister poured boiling water on my mom's head twice and even banged her head on the wall once. I get tense because of this. She picks topics out of nowhere and makes a big fuss about it and starts scolding everyone and beats my mom. I have tried talking to her, and I have even hit her once or twice when she went off the limit.

Whenever she does not have any reason to tell as to why she is beating my mom, she says that she will kill herself and grabs a knife. This is too much for me to handle as this happens every day and I cry almost every day as I feel helpless. I even thought of reporting her to the police, but I sometimes feel sorry for her. Being an undergraduate student, I have a lot to study, but instead, I keep thinking about whether my mom would be safe at home when I am at college. I am having anxiety attacks recently and I am not taking any medications. I even get suicidal thoughts on some days. Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern and I will help you with your query.

First of all, I would like to mention that psychotic illnesses are commonly associated with epilepsy. So, punishing your sister will not help. Kindly take your sister to a psychiatrist in person for detailed evaluation and treatment if needed. The root cause of your stress can then be resolved. Besides, you should take care of yourself, and work on stress management. Also, take a self-rating test using Zung's self-rating depression scale and Zung's self-rating anxiety scale which you can easily find online. If it is indicative of moderate to severe depression or anxiety disorder, then I suggest you consult a psychiatrist in person for a detailed evaluation and treatment. Some simple steps that can be helpful are as follows:

Practice meditation daily for at least half an hour in the morning as it helps you relax and focus.
Spend at least one hour daily doing your hobbies to vent out your stress.
Exercise regularly and take a balanced diet.
Share your feelings with close friends. If that is not feasible, then maintain a stress diary and log down your thoughts daily in an uncensored manner, and never read them again.

Remember that every problem has a solution. You just need to try solving it and remember that help is just a step away.

I hope I have resolved your queries. Feel free to get back if you have any further queries.

Thank you.