My brother smokes too much?

Hi all,

My brother got a little emotional the other day and broke down and confessed that he smokes way too much and wants to get help.

He said he sad, which makes him smoke to pass the time, but smoking only makes him more depressed and sad.

He's afraid to go to a doctor because he thought that they'd put him on Methadone. To which I laughed and said that methadone is used in treating heroin addicts.

He doesnt feel he can tell Mum or Dad as he would feel ashamed.

I said that I would go to see a doctor with him, but I dont know what else to do. Will a doctor persribe him anti-depressants, because I dont want him dependant on those either.

Can someone help me help my brother?

Thanks.

what does he smoke - marijuana or cigarettes? if it's cigarettes then i'm not much help 'cause i've never touched 'em, but i might have an idea with teh weed

you might want to consider cross-posting (if that's allowed?) this to aus d.d. too, especially if he's a pot smoker. good luck

Moved to Aus DD

I would take him to a psychologist first, to rule out the possibility that he just needs therapy.

If the problem is more organic, then he will most likely need meds, but I wouldn't worry about him being 'dependant' on them, as often people will take them for several months to a few years, then go off them and be fine. So it's not like he'll (necessarily) be taking an antidepressant for the rest of his life.

A general drug and alcohol counsellor could help with this too. Try calling your local community health centre. They should be able to refer you somewhere.

He sm

He smokes dope, not cigarettes.

Thanks

I found that when i gave up smoking pot i did it gradually, that way the feeling of wanting it went away. Your brother sounds like a freind of mine that smoked heaps of pot and got all depressed and it finally came to a head when he had some killer strong ice and then had a mental breakdown and is now on anti depressnats... which he was on before but wasnt taking properly.

anyways i'm not saying that they are the same but if he is admitting pot is bad for him then he has made the first step. cold turkey may work... try and get him outdoors maybe take up a hobby that will help him pass time...

If he wants to go cold turkey - let him know that all he's in for is a couple of nights of insomnia and bizarre dreams. Maybe night sweats. It's not really that bad on the scale of withdrawals from drugs.

Best technique I've found is to give up when you finish your last choof. That way if you resolve to give up, and you find that you're craving, there's no choof in the house to smoke anyway. The cravings pass in minutes, and they're mostly just boredom related IMO, which can be broken.

BigTrancer

Cleaning your room or the house can help. Once you start you can't seem to stop until it's sparkly....

i actually broke down on the phone to my mum once. i was hanging for a cone, and realised it wasn't good that i felt like that, after not having a cone for a few hours(yes, a few hours).

i was running round the house, just venting my frustration on anything i could find. i ended up braking a glass, and flipping the coffee room table over in anger. i even started punching the walls. nearly broke my fist, but i didn't care!!

so i rang my mum up, and just started balling my eyes out! she organised a meeting with a coucellor than afternoon, but by the time it came around to going, i had found some cones. i still went(stoned tho), and she had some very interesting things to say!
for example:
tell him that he needs to find something he enjoys, to replace the weed. i only smoked because i was bored, and she told me, that when i got bored, to do my chosen activity. that was playing ps2 and going for a bike ride!

tell him that when he gets the craving(as you can see, i used to get them BADDD), that he should go for a run. because when you go cold turkey, u find you have lots more energy, and nothing to do with it! it's hard to start going for runs, because it hurts like a mofo. you can't breathe, you get a stitch when you get to the end of your driveway etc. but if you persist, it gets easier.

unfortunatly, all that didn't work for me. but that was because i didn't want to quit. i don't know why, but i just didn't see a point in quitting then.
if your brother wants to quit, then it should work for him eventually.

i am straight now, but only because i moved towns, and don't have a dealer anymore.
it was very hard at first, but it is getting easier by the day!! i actually do go for runs now, but they still hurt like a mofo
it's been two months, and i still get pretty bad cravings(i used to smoke 20-30 cones a day, no probs!), but they are nowhere near as bad as when i started!
i actually havn't had anything at all since i left(pills, trips whiz etc.), so that has made it a lot harder for me as well.

i am travelling back to cairns for a week, and am going to go on a big bender(anything i can get). but there is no way i'm going back to the days of smoking everyday. it's just not worth it. it was like i was smoking cones just to feel normal.

just make sure you're there for your bro, and he should get thru it!!

w00t w00t

The truth of the above post stings

...because it hurts like a mofo. you can't breathe, you get a stitch when you get to the end of your driveway etc. but if you persist, it gets easier.

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hahaha

...it's just not worth it. it was like i was smoking cones just to feel normal

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i find this to be pretty much the best indication that i'm smoking too much, usually indicates its time to cut down, or have a break...

the biggest problem is really wanted to stop. Pot is a GREAT social drug, but once you have become dependent, it sends your motivation to see friends who dont smoke plummetting. Thus after a while of heavy smoking, most of your friends also smoke heavily or regularly, which makes stopping very hard......you do actually want to stop, but still want to smoke casually with friends on weekends etc.
it is very difficult to go cold turkey, but cutting back will never really work first off.
I never wanted to eradicate weed altogether, just lose my dependency. The best way i found was to go away for the first few weeks and remove yourself from your friends, after a month or two of none smoking, cravings are mostly gone, and it becomes possible to have the occasional J (never go back to bongs.....not even one, it all turns to shit).
but hey, thats just my experience, after being a bong head for 4 years....can now smoke socially, but do not have any cravings......good luck

Well done for doing what works for you. I've been a smoker for a very long time, and I must admit that few of my friends are stoners... Sure, everyone loves a toke on a spliff now and then, and if you have a pocket full of them at a recovery you're everyone's hero - but I couldn't say that many people I'm close friends with smoke every single day. Most of them look at me like I'm asking them to eat poison if I offer

BigTrancer

Pot is a GREAT social drug

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can't say i really agree with that..
yeah maybe passing a joint around, but if i smoke a few cones, i really only wanta be around people i'm comfortable with.. thought, it wasn't always like that... but those happy cone smoking days are long gone..