Worried about my brother

My darling brother is undiagnosed and is in his mid 50s.  Having spoken to a diagnosed friend it sounds like my brother could have autism and as a family weve missed it. He is very depressed and self medicating with alcohol. 4 years ago our dad died and MJ has never shown any emotions/grief in the normal way.  He has got angry and starting drinking heavily constantly threatening suicide. His wife just left him. MJ could never communicate with his wife or any of the family. As a child he would rather play alone. Will never show affection, a big problem with his wife. He's a super yacht captain and believes the crew should just do it his way and hates repeating ways of doing something. Am i barking up the wrong tree here. At the moment he's very depressed and drinking heavily jobless and won't t shower or wash his clothes. As a family we dont know were to turn. Thanks in advance for help. X

  • I'm sorry to hear your brother's going through such a tough time - it must be hard to watch. A lot of what you've said sounds like autistic traits, but they're also traits that could be attributed to other conditions. As a first step, you might find it helpful to call the National Autistic Society's helpline for some more information. If possible, you could try and get your brother to a GP to discuss the possibility of him being autistic, along with any support they can offer with his mental health and alcohol addiction in the meantime.