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Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
my bro has been an addict 4 7 years and its destroying him would it be safer for him to give it all up or does his body need it now hes addicted ?
he is also a big drinker and it makes him violent please help
im turning out da same way but im more concerned about getting my brother clean thnx if u got this far and if u did plz help xx
he is also a big drinker and it makes him violent please help
im turning out da same way but im more concerned about getting my brother clean thnx if u got this far and if u did plz help xx
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I dont think theres many drugs that would just kill you for going cold turkey, but it would feel like shit for him obviously and theres also much more to addiction than just getting the drug out of your system.
he'd be as well carrying on but ...if he wants off he can do it without harm if it's heroin.
if it's valium or similar it can be life threatening.
give us more details if you can.
wants he isn't addicted ...his body won't need it.
does he want to give up?
I think she meant "4 7 years" = "for 7 years" as she seem to use text talk a lot
What's he addicted to? If it's blow then he doesn't have a physical addiction just a psychological addiction and that's reversable. It also depends on how much he smokes and how often, having the odd spliff now and again isn't addiction, sitting in your room all day smoking the head off yourself is.
That's not your problem. Some people drink and get violent, some don't. Why do you think you're turning out like him? Surely if you see he has a problem you don't want to follow in his steps.
He really needs to see a specialist at a drugs and alcohol dependency service.
Good Luck!
An addict's body can experience traumatic withdrawal symptoms when they're trying to come clean, and often the worst part of breaking free is coming to terms with the psychological aspect of addiction. But one thing's for certain - a substance addiction is one of the last things a body needs.
However much his addiction makes his behaviour unbearable at times, you can still show your love for him by helping him get the support he needs to beat it. It's also important that you get enough support for yourself, too.
It's often a long and harsh road to getting clean, and how each individual deals with it is different from the next. Going to your doctor is a good starting point as they will be able to give any addict the medical help they need to getting over an addiction, as well as refer you to a specialist counsellor and local support groups.
You haven't given a lot of detail about his addiction or how exactly you're being affected, but here are a few national helplines that can offer expert advice about what to do next:
FRANK - Free confidential advice, information and help about drugs. Open 24 hours a day. They can refer you onto local drug services and send out free literature. Call 0800 776600
Drinkline - Confidential telephone help, info and advice on all aspects of alcohol use and abuse. Calls are free. Tel: 0800 9178282
Samaritans - Confidential help for anyone who is experiencing feelings of distress or despair. Call 08457 909090 or email jo@samaritans.org
You'd be a lot better off with Release - www.release.org.uk
the number of GP's who know anything whatsoever about addiction is almost zero but yes ...they can pass you on to some helpful people.
She asked if his body 'needs' the drugs/alcohol. It doesn't take a genius to guess that the human body doesn't need it. That's not to say it can't cope with it at all, but the bottom line is that there are potentially fatal risks to certain substances, long-term use and high quantities taken.
It's also important to remember that many addiction support services are funded by the NHS, and you may have to rely on a GP referral to get access to them - that's partly why going to your GP is a good first step.
Depends on the drug. People with a physical addiction to heroin do "need" heroin, to stop the withdrawals. People with a physical addiction to benzos or alcohol need their drug even more. Quitting heroin and going cold turkey won't kill someone - doing the same with an alcohol or benzo addiction can.
there are many documented cases of life long heroin addiction into the eighties year old.
no damage.
i agree seeing the doc is a good first step ...as i said ...theres a chance they will pass you on to someone who knows what they are talking about but ...very few gp's know even the basics about addiction.
as for saying her brother was damaging himself ...i took that to be lifestyle not health but then there wasn't much in the way of detail.
Have to say that i am slightly worried by the ambiguity of that statement, especially from a mod. The actual substance was not revealed and Kim's post could quite easily have been read the wrong way, as Blaggy pointed out.
Would also like to echo what Bong said, from my limited knowledge i would have to say that Release is probably a better shot than FRANK, although i agree with Kimono that your GP should be one of your first ports of call if not the first.
http://www.adfam.org.uk