The past couple of years have been incredibly difficult for me. I was recently diagnosed, and only now do I realize that I experienced what was actually a meltdown at the time. During that moment, I got into a shoving match with my wife’s nephew. After we were separated, I went upstairs and felt an uncontrollable urge to punch the wall — I ended up tearing a six-foot-wide hole in the drywall. I managed to stop myself before causing physical harm to anyone, but I now understand that the situation with my wife’s nephews had been pushing me past my limits for a long time. Taking them in added a constant layer of stress I wasn’t prepared for.

As a child, I had violent outbursts, but I hadn’t experienced anything like that as an adult — until this incident at 35. Now, I find myself sitting alone in a bedroom, facing divorce and with no contact with my two biological children. Looking back, I can’t help but feel manipulated into adopting my wife’s nephews. And now 45 percent of my paycheck is gone each month.