Alanon

Zepplin2011, in your response to my comments, you mentioned that you and your family wanted to "help" your brother and that you were more interested in holistic approaches. Without strong counseling therapy and/or support groups, no medicine, supplementation, protocol, or wishful thinking is going to manage any addiction - sure, it might assist in the short-term, but once an addict, always an addict, and the self-destructive behaviors and choices will re-emerge with a greater compulsion. Recovery is a lifelong endeavor.

In your response, above, you wrote, "...my brother will not buy into using nutrients and instead leads a life of unhealthy eating, drugs use, and other harmful lifestyle choices." The last word that you typed in that sentence was, "choices." And, I believe that's the point that I was trying to get at.

Yes, addictions can be rooted in genetic information and chemical imbalances, absolutely. But, your brother is, indeed, making choices as to whether or not he's going to accept his conditions and take over management of them, himself. Nobody can do it for him. He's going to have to make the choice to either heal himself and recover, or not. No amount of love, concern, encouragement, or support will compel him to address the PSTD and his addictions.

When friends and family members attempt to take over the management of an addict's decisions and choices, they're assuming responsibility for the addict's choices and actions, and it's never successful. Intervention is rarely successful in the long term because the addict isn't ready or willing to take responsibility for their choices. Someone outside of themselves it forcing them into recovery, rather than them making that decision, on their own.

So, I strongly encourage you and your family members to attend some Alanon meetings, if only to just listen. This link can provide you with information on meetings in your area that you and your family members can attend, together, or individually: http://al-anon.alateen.org/how-to-find-a-meeting?gclid=CN7Buci6xbgCFfRxOgod_n...


I wish you the very best and hope that your brother will take management of his issues seriously. Tweet