- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y
Dealing With a Difficult Sibling
Hi all, It’s been nearly over 3 months since I had a nasty argument with my brother. I overreacted and snapped at some criticism he gave me. To summarize, he was giving me advice on how I should get out of my comfort zone and pursue more challenging exposures, even if it meant breaking the law sometimes. I tried my best to remain calm in the face of this advice, but my OCD kicked in and I simply replied with a “I’m not ready yet”, and “my self-esteem is very low right now”. He didn’t like that and tried to give me a pep talk as to how I needed to improve my self-esteem through hard work. The conversation was in the car, and he started to passive-aggressively speed up, almost causing a car crash. I had no idea he was going to react like that. Next day, he wants to go to our grandparents’ house to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I said that I wanted to come along. But, he asked “are you sure?” I’m like “What do you mean?”. He said “that conversation in the car, are you sure you are ok to come with me?” I honestly thought that conversation was behind us and that it was resolved. I didn’t like how he kept bringing it up, almost in a devaluing, invalidating way. I then snapped at him, and said something like “How dare you bring this up? Why are you questioning me like this?” He walked out, slamming the door hard on me. Next day, he started throwing all the gifts I gave him out in the kitchen, among other things. He also broke some of my belongings that were left out of my room. He’s also gone no-contact with me. What’s more, he keeps slamming the door every time I go out of my room to eat or drink something, scaring me so I go back to my room. He’s also engaged in a smear campaign against me, talking trash about me to my parents. He accuses me of being narcissistic, that I’m a loser, and that I’m a fraud and an asshole. He also complains of receiving unfair treatment from my parents, and that I’m a “golden child” and that he’s the scapegoat. To be fair, I agree with the golden child comment, as I was given a giant weight on my shoulders to be the first in the family to hold a PhD. But now, even that achievement is worthless, and that I should shove up my PhD up my ass-as all PhDs are stuck up and vindictive… I’ve also gone no contact with him, and tried to apologize twice. I truly regret snapping at him like that, but it only made matters worse. I’m sure I posted about this already, but the situation keeps getting worse. This is a full declaration of war against me. How to deal with these tactics? Especially the no contact and passive-aggressiveness, as I’m now led to believe that I’m indeed a narcissist and that I’m the scum of the earth apparently. It just keeps triggering my OCD.