need help for brother

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2005
need help for brother
3
Tue, 04-26-2005 - 6:34pm

Hello,
I have a 28 year old brother who is bipolar and needs to seek medical treatment. He is highly irratable and depressed and is self medicating. He is able to work but has difficulty holding a job and as a result he does not have any medical insurance and is not able to afford private medical coverage. He does not draw any disability (yet but may have to in the future). Does anyone have any information about any programs he may qualify for? I don't know where to go or who to contact so any information would be greatly appreciated. I decided to step in and try and help him because he can not help himself. I'm new to all of this so any info would be a great start for me.
Thanks!
Cass


iVillage Member
Registered: 10-02-2003
Wed, 04-27-2005 - 9:36am

Your brother may qualify for medical assitance(welfare). He can maybe get medical that way. If he can qualify for medical assitance he can go to counselling. If he is on drugs or alcohol he can get help with that also. There are local Mental Health clinics in many areas. Have you tried to call any? They go by a sliding scale on your fee and sometimes it is free or maybe $2.00. Some hospitals know where they are located if you can't find one.

Now that I said that... you have to remeber that he has to WANT the help to be helped. You can tell him ways of getting help, but he is the one who has to follow through with it. You can be there for moral support but he has to want it. I had a brother who was bipolar and on drugs. He didn't help himself except self medication which only makes the problem worse. I no longer have my dear brother with me today due to drugs but there was nothing I could do to help him because he didn't want my help and wasn't ready for help.

I wish you luck with your brother and I hope he will be ready to seek help.

Tina~

 
Avatar for cla3a
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 04-27-2005 - 3:32pm

Hi Cass,


I am glad to hear that you are wanting to find ways to help out your brother. I commend you on your willingness to do what you can. Having said that, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Your brother has to want to get help before anything happens. You can push,pull,and prod but unless he is willing it would do no good. There are mental health clinics that offer services for free or for very little. If you call a local hospital they may be able to point you in the right direction.


Self medicating never ends pretty. It usually creates more problems than we think it might be solving. Maybe if you get him to admit he has a problem he will then be able and willing to make some changes. I know for me it took hitting rock bottom before I would admit that there was anything wrong.


I wish you luck, and want to let you know that you are welcome here anytime to vent, ask questions, or just need some support.


Have a good day.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2003
Thu, 04-28-2005 - 9:08pm

Hi Cass,


In addition to posting on this board, we have a message board for those with family members with mental illness at:


http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-bhfamschiz


Maybe they can also give you some ideas as you try to help your brother.

IVHealth Ruth Ann
Assistant Community Moderator/Health Librarian
rjohnson@mail.ivillage.com

IVHealth Ruth Ann
Community Leader/Ask the Health Librarian