Expert: Peter L. - 5/12/2010

Question
My brother is on drugs. He went to rehab once and he is currently relapsing. I don't know how to deal with this or what. I love him to death and he always wants money or makes up excuses. I don't know what to say or do. Please Help. Any little advice would work.

Answer
Hi Haylie,

Are your parents involved?  How old is your brother?  These questions will bear on what the options are.

You might encourage him to return to treatment.  I suspect he came out of the rehab, but didn't follow-up on his aftercare recommendations.  

Tell him you are concerned about him and would like to help him if he needs you.  Keep in mind you may not be able to get him to do what you think he should.  I feel you should look out for yourself as well, but especially if he does not do something to help himself.

Are you aware of Al-Anon?  That is a self-help organization for families of alcoholics/addicts.  You can find meetings in your area listed online.  Just put Al-Anon in a search engine.

I don't know how old you are, but you might want to seek out some counseling yourself to help you deal with the stress of seeing your brother suffering like this.

Peter