My Brother's Drug Addiction and How Its Affected Our Family

by M,
(Ottawa)

I don't remember when precisely my brother started using drugs, I'm guessing he was around 16. Although I can't remember much of that time since I was only 7 - soon enough I started noticing what was going on.

I grew up to screams and fights and finding my brother overdosed on the floor. Twice I woke up to the sound of an ambulance picking him up from my house, I went through his car accidents that almost took away his life, and through the neglect from my parents who only had time for his problems.

To this date almost 13 years after he began his addiction he still uses. They say addiction is a disease, that's what they teach you in school, in books and in any addiction recovery programs.

I've realized it's not only a disease but it's a contagious one, not because everyone around the addict starts using as well but because everyone becomes affected in a certain way that they would of never been before being related to an addict.

My addicted brother has made my oldest brother psychologically unstable - he know suffers from ocd and slight schizophrenia, my parents are both co-dependent to my brothers problem, and I have crazy anger rages and cannot commit to friendships , or relationships.

It's hard not to resent an addict and it's hard to forgive, even harder is to continue living with one after so many years. I feel lonely because there's not many people to share my story with, it extends a lot more then just this paragraph as I can imagine everyone who has written in this forum. God bless you all and give strength to us who keep fighting for a loved one.