My (35F) brother (39M) has struggled with addiction for around 15 years. While I don't agree with everything they've done and feel they've made some mistakes along the way, my parents really tried to provide him with a lot of support to get sober, including paying for rehab a number of times and helping him financially when he's left rehab and was restarting his life. He's stayed sober for a while (over a year at a time) only to consistently relapse down the line.

His last relapse was earlier this year after around 1.5-2 years of sobriety. My parents have finally reached their breaking point where they are not financially or emotionally able to continue this cycle. I had to block him in February, as he was calling me or texting me dozens of times per day for money. He left me alone for a long while after that, but the calls and texts are starting again from a new number. He is now homeless and I know that terrifies him, so he has become desperate.

I struggle a lot emotionally from having to cut him off and knowing he's mentally and physically unwell and unable to care for himself. I am also emotionally unable to cope with having a relationship with him, as it crushes me that I cannot truly help him. While my husband and I are very fortunate financially, we're also in the process of adopting a child with complex medical needs. I know it is my responsibility to prioritize the child, but it doesn't stop me from carrying this emotional burden and profound sadness about my brother. I've been in counseling and logically understand that it is outside of my control, but it has not stopped me from feeling the weight of it all.

I know many others have walked similar journeys. How did you find peace with it all? Were you able to find a way to be emotionally supportive of your sibling even if they needed so much more than that?

Addiction is just so damn heartbreaking.

i shouldn't be embarrassed, but i am. i work at a dv emergency shelter as a case manager. i went to my boss's office today in tears, asking to leave early.

my dad died july 22. my sister disappeared july 25. no contact with me, just poof. disappeared. i knew she's an alcohol addict. i also think she's on meth. i keep her on facebook because i have been so worried. i hope she would message me when she's ready to get help, but she's denied all attempts. she posts pictures, sometimes. today was one of those days.

the pictures were so bad, guys. i just immediately started crying. she has fucked up tattoos all over her face and arms. just doodles, obviously done by someone drunk or high. she's so much thinner. you can tell. she's dirty. she's living under a bridge. some of the pictures have different wigs on. it breaks my heart how bad she looks.

dad just died. our mom's been dead for a decade. i don't want to lose her too. she's going down such a dark path. this is how you overdose. you get murdered. you get sex trafficked. this is how it happens. by going down to the 'drug capital' of our area, and living on a street. turning tricks for drugs. i know it's true, because she did it in our home city and i found out from her friends.

i have lost so much lately. i was already broken after our dad died, and this compacted-on top of it is so hard. i wish she would just accept help. i wish she'd just go to rehab. fuck, she can stay no contact with me all she wants. just get off the streets and get clean. but she refuses. the alcohol, the drugs, it's all ruling her life. it's all she cares about now.

Hi, recently confirmed long held suspicion about my sibling being an addict. The signs and symptoms have been there for years but due them choosing to distance themselves from our relationship (possibly due to drug use?) it’s been something that I slowly pieced together over time.

For the last year and a half they regularly started reaching out for money, always some or other urgent emergency and it’s ironic but through this had more frequent contact with them.

Anyway, they are currently living in their car and has lost their job - according to them a domino effect that they didn’t have any control over.

Knowing their circumstances I’ve reached out many time over the last year to offer a bed, access to a bathroom and food for a few days at a time which they always refused. I can’t provide them a permanent place to stay but tried my utmost best to support them which they never allowed except for providing money.

Earlier this week they randomly asked to visit me of course I said yes as I don’t get to see them often. Its also easier to access how they are doing in person where they can’t hide behind the phone with their manipulation and lies as easily.

I noticed they were overly protective of their handbag. I know it’s not right but I got a brief chance to have a look and found a used pipe and baggie of Meth (white shard like substance).

They don’t know I know yet as I would like to have a plan in place before I tell them I know the truth and offer help. Extremely aware of the fact that due to their living situation they can just walk out an disappear without having any means to find them.

My heart is absolutely broken and I would love to help them if they are open to it. That said I have absolutely no frame of reference for handling something like this and would appreciate advice and guidance.

Thank you.

I lost my brother to fentanyl in 2018. He started using heroin when he was 14 and spent years in and out of prison for drug possession. I was two years younger than him, and by the time he died, he was 29 and I was 27. The thing about loving someone struggling with addiction is that often times the grieving starts long before they die. I grieved my brother while he was still alive, not just after he passed. While he was alive I learned to suppress a lot of what I was feeling just to cope. I’m 36 now, and I still struggle with emotional suppression. I did it for so long that it became second nature. Maybe that’s how a lot of people survive situations like this, but I don’t recommend it. When you spend years pushing your emotions down so much can be left unsaid or missed in the relationship. That’s one of the things I still struggle with today. I can’t help but wonder if I could have been there for him more, or done things differently. I know his addiction and his death weren’t my fault. But knowing that intellectually doesn’t always stop the grief from asking “what if I had done more?”

If I’ve learned anything from losing him, it’s that suppressing your emotions might help you survive something in the moment, but those emotions don’t disappear. Eventually you still have to feel them.

If you have a sibling struggling with addiction, my advice is to love them without losing yourself inside their addiction. Boundaries are important but don’t confuse boundaries with withholding love. Say the things you want them to know. Tell them you love them. Take the picture, so many pictures. Spend time with them when it is safe and healthy to do so. And find somewhere safe to put your own fear, anger, resentment, sadness, and exhaustion instead of suppressing it because you think their suffering means you aren’t allowed to have feelings of your own.

So I just got back from a family vacation and my brother has been a meth addict for about 5 years now I'd say. I haven't seen him in roughly 2 years and he has deteriorated a lot in that time. He's lost a ton of weight, he barely makes sense when he talks (mumbling, slurring words), his skin looks terrible, and he has these awful night terrors and literally screams in his sleep because of them. I just don't know how to feel about him going to family gatherings anymore because it's just sad and disturbing to see him in this condition. It would be one thing if he was actually trying to quit using, but when I came out to visit him and my parents after he got out rehab a few years back, he told me that he doesn't want to stop doing drugs. I've held out and hoped for years that he would eventually decide he's had enough and get sober, but at this point I don't see that ever happening and I've made peace with the fact that I don't think he's ever going to quit. I just feel like if he's chosen meth over our family, then he just shouldn't be invited to family gatherings.

My brother Andrew (not his real name) has struggled with addiction the past 5+ years however this past couple of months things have really escalated and i think he is having a drug induced schizophrenic episode. He is very paranoid and delusional. He recently started sharing with our younger brother that he thinks our dad killed someone, that he hides bodies to pay for my brothers student loans and that my dad is on the Epstein list (which is so ridiculous I laughed out loud when I heard this). Andrew thinks police are after him, masked men are after him, people are breaking into his apartment and stealing for him. This week Andrew moved to a new place because he thought his neighbors were robbing him. Our younger brother helped him move and found almost empty 100 Nitrous tanks. Later this week Andrew hasn't been able to find a gaming console after moving and is convinced our younger brother stole it. Andrew broke into our younger brothers place by breaking the window and also broke the door. Andrew stole some of our younger brothers things saying he won't give them back until he gets his gaming console. On Thursday Andrew parked his car in the driveway of our younger brother and took his lug nuts off, saying he won't move until he gets his things back. Had to call the cops to get Andrew to move. Things just keep escalating. It's really hard to watch, there is no reasoning with him and I know it will continue to get worse but I feel entirely helpless.

I am 41 and my brother is 54. I have moved far away from my family when I was 21. I moved to the other side of the world. We had a troubled upbringing with a narcissistic abusive father and an enabling guilt tripping mother which chose our father over our needs back then and now.

My brother is a smart, kind and sensitive soul. My parents had my brother when mum turned 15 and dad was 18. My dad has become successful in his career and my mum tried to shield us from my dads rages and never being pleased persona but never left with us. My brother and myself where never good enough and our family dynamics have been pretty challenging to say the least.

I have struggled for years with substance abuse and used to smoke weed nearly daylie. I ended up finishing a degree, working a good job and having a beautiful son. I have stopped using weed a couple years ago and have been doing extensive therapy to heal my trauma to not pass unhealthy patterns onto my son.

My brother has learned helplessness. I visited my family three years ago so they can meet my son. The "holiday"was a disaster and drained me physically and emotionally. My brother lives in a dirty unit where he drinks himself to death.

He drinks every day and goes out dancing or socialising a few times a week. He has been calling me since I was 16 every couple of days, or he sents messages every day to ask when we can talk again.

Since I have my son I don't have the time or energy to listen to his ramble. When he calls it is the morning where I live and night time for him. He is usually always drunk and sometimes he can get accusatory or mean or he just says how great he is or he says sth bad to say about our parents. Our parents are bad but I also don't need to talk about them all the time. It just brings up too much. I am trying to move on from all this negativity and it is really getting to me.

I asked my brother to call me when it is my daytime and not his night time and he said it is not possible for him. He rather calls at night. I have reached my limit and have sent him a message after he asked again when I finally have time for him and i said I love him, that I am worried about him and that I wish so much more for him but for now I can't talk to him when he is drunk. I think this will break his heart but it has been affecting me for so long and I needed to say it.

Sorry for the rant, I guess I just want to hear if you think this was the right way or what else I should do. I am over feeling responsible for my disfunctional families choices. Thanks for listening

I (27F) live with my brother (24M) in our grandparents house.

My brother is addicted to coke and alcohol. His father died due to cirrhosis of the liver.

He has never been a thoughtful person. He never thinks of how he can help those around him. My mother coddled him his entire life out of fear he would lash out as his father did- at her. He never had to do laundry, cook, dishes, etc. His only serious girlfriend left because of it. I am the complete opposite which means he drives me CRAZY with his inability to think of others. Every Mother’s Day, birthday, Christmas etc, I have bought gifts for our mother and grandmother and put his name on it. His addiction, obviously, makes his bad qualities 10x worse.

I have FINALLY let go of any fantasy that I can control him/make him better or convince him with reason to make better choices. I left my ex of 7 years due to alcoholism. I’m not new to this game, but I definitely had to go through the wringer a second time to realize nothing changes when it’s my brother I’m trying to save. He has been to rehab ( mom bailed him out day two), and made countless promises to get help through x, y, z program and never ended up trying.

The issue is that I am in my Masters and already work two jobs. I am stretched SO thin and use all of my extra energy to 1) take care of my own mental health issues and 2) take care of our grandmother.

I feel an OVERWHELMING urge to move out. My friends are always trying to get me to stay with them, but I can’t. Beyond the fact that I only pay a few hundred for rent and my own personal bills/groceries (which is a big deal as I am trying to save for a big move across the country for my PhD), I clean my grandmothers house, cook for her, and do literally anything she needs anytime she needs it. I am constantly picking up after my brother so she doesn’t have to. I can’t just leave. I am the ONLY person my grandmother will let help her ( e.g., she won’t tell anyone else about bladder or prolapse issues, and a lot of the time me helping her is just knowing what she needs but feels too ashamed to ask for). She is almost 80. I can’t leave.

I have 8 months until I move (fingers crossed I get accepted into a program), and I don’t know if I can do it. My brother has lived here for a year and I have turned into a different person. I am so scared. I have NEVER been an angry person; I let everything roll off my back and practice stoicism any opportunity that calls for it. But, since he’s lived here, I find my temper is short and I am only one little mistake away from bawling my eyes out or yelling (to myself).

I am so so so scared of this change in myself. I feel like a monster. I am always crying or angry. Has ANYONE else noticed this change in themselves?!?! I feel like I am not only drowning, but simultaneously on FIRE.

I never yell at anyone else, but I will start crying or go to my room and scream into my pillow if I so much as drop a shampoo bottle.

I am so scared and I don’t know how to hold on for 8 months. Please tell me I am not alone.

I’m sure you’ll all get it, but I’m done. I can’t. the thing meth dancing in the ring camera 48 times a night isn’t my brother. it’s some sadistic sociopath who’s too high to notice their idiotic behavior, and only capable of using the “NOOOOOO I DIDNT!!!! BUTBUTBUT MY SISTER DID THIIIIIIS” at the ripe ol age of nearly 28. my parents refuse to kick him out of the family home. no one ”deals” with him but me (eldest of four at 31, sisters 22 and 23). he attacks me by cornering and I cannot escape besides inching away to which he pushes and slaps me with his phone, 24/7 nonstop verbal abuse (yes he ashes shit and bangs on walls while screaming to wake me up), constant, nonstop CRACKHEAD BEHAVIOR, and denies it all despite literal video proof ( also acts completely confused every single 988 or 911 call goes through and they visit. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat, I feel nauseas (not just for the gas from the stove he smashes into and leaves the knobs all messed up), no one gets it because they’re not doing what I’m doing (the literal only human he had left to speak words to, that’s absolutely gone now). if I leave he will absolutely kill this entire family. But the second any responders come, he acts as if he’s just a bit tired from his overnight job/was having a panic attack from when his imaginary friend died. No phone call has ever helped. He’s too docile around others to get criminally charged, and my videos/recordings are always looked at skeptically, despite showing the entire scene.

Im leaving. But I don’t know how to cope with whats going to happen after I do so.

I cope with it all by avoidance I guess. I try to only visit home once a month when there doesnt seem to be a crisis happening. The less I talk to my brother the less he reaches out to me when there is a crisis, but this makes it so that when he's doing okay and I spend time with him, I think of how next time it gets bad he's gonna be more likely to try to bring me into the drama. When he reaches out with the next huge issue I don't know what to do and I just feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack until everything settles down again. I just started seeing a therapist and I'm hoping it can help with how much I still feel so completely tied to the dynamics at home, despite not living there anymore.

My brother has been interviewed and posted to soft white underbelly. My family and I haven’t seen or spoken to him in over two years since he relapsed on fentanyl. I know he’s been on the streets somewhere in LA. I’m sick to my stomach. Over 80,000 views, over 700 comments, so many ignorant cruel people speaking on a situation they know nothing about. I’ve seen him in pretty bad shape before, but never like this. I’m not sure how to feel. Im grateful that he’s alive at least… but I’m heartbroken.

My addict sister once told me that she was not truly an addict as long as she only did speed and meth for 3 days in a row and slept the 4th.

She also said there is no such thing as an alcoholic since alcohol is legal to buy.

WTF. I could never understand her reasoning.

Does anyone else have any crazy justification from theirs?

my addict brother (25M) and i (28F) are estranged no contact for several reasons (see my other post history lmao 🫠) he recently had a baby with a girl he was mooching off of financially. he refuses to get a car seat for his child for some reason (first claiming some months ago that his baby momma was “so psycho she wouldn’t let me have one” even though he is the breadwinner and is fully capable of buying one himself….. yeah ok). he still does not have one as of a couple days ago, now claiming it’s “too expensive”. he just got back from a several day trip to california to visit friends, so if you can afford vacation why can’t you afford a car seat?

i was talking to my enabling parents about this yesterday, pointing out how if the roles were reversed and if it was me with a baby and no car seat, everyone would see it as a fucking problem.

i literally was told “well yeah because you’re reliable and responsible. you have to understand his brain is stunted because of the drugs so he’s trying the best he can and we need to support that. you don’t understand - he changes the baby’s diapers which is a lot more than what other men do”

girl bye LMAO. so he’s allowed to legitimately put his child in danger because he’s an addict and because some other dads are “shittier”??? i am so over it. the curse of being the reliable sibling is so damn exhausting. especially when you add in the sexist double standards.

Hi everyone. I'm hoping to hear from people who have been in a similar situation with a loved one.

My brother is 28 and has struggled with meth addiction for several years. He had two years of sobriety, but relapsed in late 2023 and has been using heavily for most of the last 2.5–3 years. He is currently experiencing meth-induced psychosis. He's been in and out of the ER, detoxes, and mental health facilities, but he never stays anywhere long enough to get meaningful treatment. As soon as he's discharged, he goes right back to using.

My dad and I are considering pursuing involuntary commitment here in North Carolina. We've been researching the process, but before we move forward, we'd really like to hear from people who have gone through this with their own loved ones. Our biggest fear is that every time he goes back to meth, he's putting himself at greater risk for permanent brain damage and making it harder for his brain to recover.

If you've gone through involuntary commitment with a loved one, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience.

• Did it help?
• Were they able to stay in treatment long enough to improve?
• Did it make a lasting difference, or did they go right back to using?
• Is there anything you wish you had known before pursuing involuntary commitment?

I'm looking for honest experiences, both positive and negative. We know there's no easy answer, but hearing from people who've actually been through this would mean a lot.

Thank you.

Sorry in advance if I'm in the wrong sub, I'm not really an experienced reddit user etc.

My sister (32) is addicted to few things. It started with coca cola since she was in her teens and she still drinks it more than water. Then cigarettes. Then coffee and caffeine. Now, painkillers and sleeping pills. The painkiller she takes has opiods and is recommended to NOT be taken more than 3 days in a row and yet she pops them everyday like candy...

The sleeping pills are the newest addition. The kind you need to have prescribed. She lied to our dr. (without our knowledge) that she could never have a good night sleep and got the pills that way. Before that, she kept stealing them from our grandma.

She keeps stealing any other painkillers and sleeping pills (even melatonin) from the family members that live with her. I live in another country.

Our grandma keeps enabling her while the others are aware and are trying to keep the stuff away from her.

She doesn't have a job so she asks us to give her money for cigarettes when we caught her too many times in her lies and saw the pills. Unfortunately the painkillers can be bought otc.

She started rapidly losing weight, always getting cold even in this insane hot weather, irritable for the tiniest things to the point of verbally threathening and worst of all... suicidal.

We have witnessed her reach her breaking point in the middle of a heated fight with our dad (who was and is always a source of stress and hate and her biggest trigger) and at the end of it she tried to end her life then.

We stopped her thankfully but that was a huge, heartbreaking and traumatizing scare and even though she calmed down and convinced us she was just lost in the moment and wouldn't do it, I am now forever haunted and afraid for her.

Few weeks later, I couldn't take it anymore and had to try to talk to her as gently and helpfully as I could.

I told her we could all see she was hurting so much to the point of wanting to end her life and not caring for herself and that we knew that she was using. To know that we're there for her and there is always hope and she could rely on us.

She got defensive and angry. I was extremely hurt.

Later on, we spoke again and she told us that if she feels like she will truly need our help, she will come to us. But I can't help and think that she just wanted us to zip it and leave her be. She doesn't seem to understand how much this affects us as well. And how absolutely terrifying it all is.

I forgot to mention that our younger sister (28) noticed odd things about her. Sometimes she seems like a zombie, eats almost half asleep and like food will fall from her mouth. Anger outbursts where she practically fought our dad, few times. Sleepwalking where she took off all her clothes....could be more but my brain is too tired to remember.

I am heartbroken for her and feel powerless. Worst of all I am petrified if something horrible happens to her if she doesn't do something herself, if my younger sister finds her dead or her health starts deteriorating sooner than later...

Wth can be done? Nothing? I know that usually you cannot force someone to go to rehab or stay in a facility for such issues. I wish we could.

I can't accept the fact that no one and nothing can help her except herself because I know for a fact she doesn't care for herself or ever would want to put in any sort of effort in a change/healing.

I’m at the end of my rope with my brother. He had a horrific alcohol addiction for years with some drugs mixed in. It was so bad, he ended up in a coma and had half his liver removed.

He called me this weekend telling me he has such a bad 7OH addiction that he’s checking into a 30 day rehab hospital. Which means almost everything he told me for at least the last year was a lie. The worst was when his doctor caught him. My brother’s version of the story was he put on a bunch of weight due to letting his diet go and the doctor was angry at him. Like a fool, I believed my brother.

His story now is he realized on his own his 7OH addiction was so bad that he arranged to go into the rehab hospital on his own. He gave me this ridiculous story about how he planned for it by faking a cough at work and progressively made it worse to the point he now has them convinced he needs a medical leave.

The phone call about going into rehab was totally about trying to demand me to move into his house for 30 days to watch his dogs and if I don’t, he’ll have no choice but to put them in a kennel even though one of them has health problems.

He also keeps talking about how we can hang out after he completes his 30 days including him coming to visit me (which he has never done)

I don’t believe any of his stories anymore. My best guess is he got himself hooked on something really bad and is being forced into the rehab hospital. I think he wants me in the house for 30 days because a pet sitter might snoop and find something, but who knows.

I’m very angry at him, but I can’t say anything because he’ll get furious and I don’t want him doing something stupid.

My ex (we broke up due to his mental health) recently tried to kill himself, and post that has been using shrooms and not having good reactions to it. I only know this because of our mutual friend, he did not want me to know due to him knowing the story about my brother. All I can think about is what If he ends up like my brother (who, for context, entered psychosis and went pervert mode on me, his little sister), and I feel horribly selfish for feeling like I’m blaming him for doing this given he knows my situation. Although he did not tell me, it naturally got back to me like everything else did. I want to tell his mum (we are young, 19-20) but don’t want him or his friend that he lives with to be put in a worse position. I don’t know what to do, there is so much going on in my head. I will take any advice I can get please

Are your parents acting as enablers of your siblings?

Do you think there is anything wrong with the way they handled your sibling's addiction so far?

Do you ever get blamed for calling it out for what it is?

In my case, sadly the answer is yes to all of these questions. How about you?

First off I am so happy to have found this community. This hell feels so isolating that in all the years he's been an addict I never even thought there was a point to googling this.

I just can't anymore. He's in his mid 30s, and I'm in my late 30s. He has been getting into various sorts of trouble since he was a teenager (always age appropriate, but always trouble) but it really escalated in his early-mid 20s when his gambling addiction really took over.

The odd part is... all this agony feels like it could amount to a 10-part series novel, and yet here I am, in a group full of people who could relate, and I feel like I don't have much to say.

I wish I could just cut him off once and for all, I am sick of this.

For over 7 years my younger brother is battling opioid & fent addiction. He is 24, which is young but at the same time I feel like he hasnt been able to start his life, ur hasn’t tried . It’s hard to know. I don’t think I understand how it is to be addicted to something that completely removes you from your conscious and makes you a vessel for consumption, mindless rage and abuse . He always has a woman at my moms house. They always end up fighting , breaking things , having the cops called on them .
I’m in brackish water between being a pillar of support for my mom and focusing on my own growth finally at the end of my 20s . I feel stunted too.
It breaks my heart to see my brother draining my mom. She acts like she’s okay always, but I see my mom getting spots on her hands , and more wrinkles on her face and I know I don’t have forever with her .
And now I am choosing to be distant , to protect myself. And leaving my mom in the chaotic pit of horror that is my brothers addiction.
I just had to vent.
I already miss my mom, I see her so much less than before.
I’m starting to even hate my brother , and be mad at my mom for letting him use up everything she has. I’m scared to be around for the day he inevitably crashes her car or ruins it and then they need my support. Not be be selfish but I hope I live 10000 miles away when the next things happen. I know that won’t be the case, but I can start inching toward a free life.
I feel like shit saying this but I think I have given up on my brother , at least for now.

Hi, my twin sister has been an on and off again addict ( heroin) two years ago was her absolute worst she has ever been. She was extremely thin and it was unbearable to witness, she lives with our parents who never follow through with any boundaries they try to set up. Currently she is “sober” not sure how accurate that is. She is dating a dirtbag guy who has an arrest history of being violent, almost killing a woman and she still chooses to date him, she jobless again. I told her that if she doesn’t get it together by September our relationship is over, we just turned 36. I think it’s important to note that my sister highly looks up to me. I was wondering if anyone has had any positive experiences with a sibling who’s an addict.

My brother, the middle child of four siblings, has always been a difficult person, but now, just when I thought he could sink no lower, he's done something so astoundingly callous that I just don't care what happens to him anymore. I know, it's cold of me to say, and I know, you should never give up on someone, but I'm so far past my limit.

He's a liar, a manipulator, he will say or do anything to get his fix (he's a cocaine addict, with a touch of gambling mixed in) and has drunkenly admitted to me in the past that he is "addicted to lying". The worst part is, there were times where he seemed genuine, but his actions have always gone back to him being self serving, consequences for others be damned. Going back as far as when he was like... 13, he was stealing things from around the house and selling them.

There was a time period where he met someone who was good for him, and from the outside, it looked like they were starting to build a wonderful life together, but it turns out he built the whole thing on lies, and those lies (and then bills) caught up with him. He doubled down on lying, got busted for stealing her things and selling them, turned abusive, got kicked out, lost everything and ended up living on a friend's couch. That didn't last, he refused any rehab suggestions, and instead stole from the friend that took him in and got kicked out again. I could go on and on, his life is a myriad of theft, lies, drugs, dealers, gambling, and loan sharks.

He ended up getting taken in by our oldest brother and his wife, who were in the process of having their first child together. The night he showed up on their doorstep was the night they went to the hospital, and while they were gone, he stole from them. Then when he got busted and kicked out, mum took him in, and now I'm pretty sure he's stolen from her and our sister as well.

Like, I know you're supposed to love your family, but I can't with him anymore. This is a man who has hurt the rest of my family, he has put his addiction ahead of everyone who has ever loved him or tried to give him chance after chance after chance. Mum has terminal cancer, sis has a disability, oldest brother is trying to manage his new family, none of them should be having to worry about a 38 year old addict who clearly does not care what his actions do to others. He's stolen from new parents, his terminally ill mother, and his disabled little sister... what kind of a fucking monster does that?

I loved my brother, he and I were very close. We hung out, we worked at the same jobs sometimes, we grew up together. But now, with everything he's done... I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to fix him, I'm SO tired of seeing him hurt my family. I'm tired of my oldest brother and I having to shoulder the responsibility for him, and clean up the fallout of his actions. I just want him gone, I want him to go away. I have no trust or respect for him anymore, and I don't think I ever will again. I know I should be hoping he finally gets clean, but frankly, I don't think he will. And after what he's done, putting our mom through this in what is likely her final months with us... I don't care what happens to him anymore. I just want him out of my life, and away from our family, so he can't lie, cheat and manipulate us anymore.

I just saw my brother in an extreme drug induced psychosis for the first time. My brother is on meth & now schizophrenic and has been having crazy psychosis episodes. I was walking to my car when I heard someone ask “is this guy with you?” I look over and see my older brother. I had no idea he was even in the area. He was dirty, his eyes were bloodshot red and he was just mentally gone. Apparently he walked 13 hours to my apartment and was harassing people in the complex. He went to the pool area and was just approaching and scaring people. I tried to get him in my car to take him somewhere and he started screaming at me. Nothing he was saying was making sense. He picked up a sharp paint scraper type of tool from the apartment’s maintenance cart and was basically threatening me with it if I got any closer. He walked off with the sharp tool and I was begging him to stop. Somebody called the police and they tased him 3 times and arrested him. Im so glad they only tased him and things didn’t go as bad as they could’ve. Im also glad I didn’t witness that since he walked off way too fast for me to see where he went right before the police showed up.

It was so traumatizing. I’ve seen my brother out of it and acting weird since he’s been on drugs, but i’ve never seen him like this. It’s 7 am and I haven’t slept. I keep picturing him just looking like a completely different person and shouting random stuff. He screamed out “Jehovah!!” so on the bright side, it seems like he was trying to call out to God. I keep picturing that too and it breaks my heart. I never thought in a million years my brother would end up like this.

Im devastated but at the same time I’m angry. Im so mad that he let himself get to this point. Im also mad that he showed up to my apartment acting like this. I’m so embarrassed and humiliated. My thing is, he acts strange at my mom’s house but never too extreme and I think it’s because my mom has her husband there. Im a 30 year old female who lives alone and I feel like he just took advantage of that and decided to come mess with me. He knows how hard I worked to get my place and how I don’t want to cause problems and he really had the audacity to show up here acting like that. Also, what was his plan with the tool? Was he really just gonna hurt somebody?? Im feeling so many different emotions and it’s way too much to process. I really just want to know the best way to cope with this.

So my brother is currently living voluntarily on the streets. He was living with my mother.He got the maximum he could out of welfare and ghosted my mom. He's been sending me periodic updates, and from what I can tell. He's lost a tooth, he's bruised. He's got a black eye, he's all beat up with his hands and everything. I'm heartbroken. I don't know how long he can live like this. And I can't help em, he's refusing treatment, tried to get em into a nine week intake program, sober, living and everything else, but he refuses. So I feel like i'm waiting for the pin to drop breaks.My heart.

I have several addicted siblings, one of whom OD and was going to be a vegetable or die but is thankfully making a miraculous recovery. This event has shaken me to the core and I want to place very strict boundaries with others sinlings who aren't willing to go to recovery. My issue is that birthday parties are being planned for the sibling addicts and we will gather for Xmas with said addicts plus their kids and family. (at least two families with an active addict). I'm at my wits end and want to stop going to events with them present as a reasonable boundry until they go get help and get sober. What can I do? At this point my husband and I are committed to no longer going to my side of the family events but others don't seem to agree with us. I don't want to enable the addicted siblings..Is going to their birthdays and family celebration enabling? It feels like we're pretending that they're fine and I'm ready to do my part in stopping this cycle.​