Advice needed
My brother has bi polar and also a drug addiction, I am try to convince him to to rehab but I cant find the words. What can I say to him to convince him to go, I cant watch him do this to himself anymore.
Comments
Hi @Sally95
This sounds really difficult. I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this. @Hannah-RO provided a great link to some useful information that I hope helps you get some idea of what you could do. Everyone on the forums are really lovely and we are more than happy to be a shoulder to lean on while you work towards finding your brother some help. Let us know how you go with the information and if you have any questions.
Hi @Sally95, I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this but it's nice to hear how much you care about your brother. I wanted to add that there is also a family drug and gambling helpline that might be useful for you. This also reminded me of a friend who had to approach their alcoholic friend when they were in rehab. I think one thing that might help is to think about your relationship with your brother and how you could best approach this with him to make it personal and genuine. For example, if you know he's the kind of person who needs positive reinforcement and a sense of hope or he needs a harsher reality check, that might help you to think of the best way to bring up a conversation that will make an impact on him. I also thought you could write up some things you wanted to say beforehand, like some particular concerns you have, how much you care and reasons you think getting help would make a difference. Also to tell him that while it is his decision it would mean a lot to you and you would help him every step of the way. Of course you don't have to go it alone either way, if you have family that could help you think of something to say or at least some sort of support network for when you have this conversation, I would make that my first priority before I said anything. I wish all the best for you 
Hey @Sally95 that sounds really tough, it's so hard to watch our loved ones experience distress and trying to help can be so challenging. Posting here shows that you really care about your brother and you want him to be ok which shows you are a really caring sibling
There is some information in this article that you might find helpful, it is about supporting a friend (it is applicable to family members as well) with drug issues.
It gives some tips about how to be a supporter such as not guilt tripping and letting them know you're there for them. It's also got some links to services that you might find helpful.
Supporting someone else can be really difficult and it's important that you are able to get support for yourself if you need it, for example contacting Kids Helpline for some one-on-one counselling if you think that might be helpful. What are you doing to look after yourself in this difficult time?
