If I had to choose one word to describe my family, I think “dysfunctional” says it best. I have two younger siblings, one brother and one sister. My brother is a former alcoholic who has always had difficulty holding a job. My sister has a long history of manic depression/bi-polar syndrome. I’m not exactly a sterling example of mental health myself, having flirted with alcoholism in my youth. My father is beginning to show the signs of dementia as well. My mother is, fortunately for her but not us, no longer with us. She was probably the most rational of all of us, and the loss of her stabilizing influence has left us all spinning slightly out of control.