A substance abuse disorder is a horrendous condition that gets someone to lie, cheat, and steal to gain drugs and alcohol. Substance abuse is a progressive disorder that provokes a person’s tolerance to keep them dangerously wanting more and more. If your brother falls into this category, wanting to help him at any cost could be beneficial because the alternatives will not be easy to face. You may be called a “rat” or a “tattletale”, but you would be “snitching” for his better good.
Once you have identified signs and symptoms with the substance abuse that your brother is exhibiting, you may feel obligated to help him through the problems he is facing. Figuring out how to help someone who has gone to great lengths to hide their addiction, can be extremely difficult especially if you have no idea what you are up against.
You may want to tell your parents in the spirit of getting your brother the help that he honestly needs although you may be afraid that you will violate any trust you may have with him going forward. The problem at hand is that your brother needs help to get sober and you could be enabling him. Without the necessary treatment, his journey in addiction could lead him to death. The question you must ask yourself – would be breaching his trust even matter if he was not around in the first place? If you did not say anything to anyone and something happened to him, the amount of guilt that you would have to live with would most likely be so unbearable that you would beat yourself up for a long time.
His addiction is not your fault and it is not your burden to carry around with you. You may want to be cool with your sibling, however, how cool would it be to have to bury him or visit him through a glass divider in jail? Even though he may be angry for an uncomfortable period of time, your decision could be the turning point in his life which you could be preventing him from. Chances are your parents already know something is off and will appreciate your incite without indicating you as the informant. Telling your parents in confidence and having some sort of intervention is the best way to help your brother. You just may get the opportunity to save your brother’s life.
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