I can definitely say that my brother has been down a really long road. He is only 23 years old, but he has had a drug and alcohol addiction for the last six years. My parents have been very supportive of him and so have I. He hit rock bottom several times and it it's been really difficult for us to watch him do this to himself. He has so much to live for but just hasn't been able to kick the addictive habits. All the therapists we've consulted have told us that nothing will work until he is ready to admit to his problem and face it head on. He's slowly coming around so this past Thanksgiving weekend when we were all together staying at our parent's house they suggested he take an online alcohol and drug class just for educational purposes. They sold it to him like it would be a low-key, interesting experience that he could do from the comfort of the family room. He actually agreed and we immediately enrolled in an 8 hour alcohol and drug class. The great news was that he actually took it seriously and became engrossed. He spread it out over the 4 days of the long weekend and we'd sit with him on and off to add support and comments. I think he was shocked about hearing all the long-term side effects he's up against if he continues on this road. It was a good way to start the discussion with him and now my parents are going to follow-up with the psychologist who created the class about continuing with some one-on-one therapy. Taking this online class was easy and my parents are really happy with how my brother seemed to take the information to heart. Now it's up to him to apply all the skills he learned to make a serious lifestyle change.
