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My sister may have bipolar but won’t seek help, and also abuses drugs. So lost!

ConcernedSister94
Community Member

Hello,

my younger sister has had mental health issues for the last decade. We believe she has bipolar depression, as it runs in the family, and she displays symptoms to suggest this too. Over the last few years, she has also abused drugs and alcohol, which increases her mania, and has recently lead her to become extremely violent. She cannot live with our mum, as she has physically abused her, and destroyed her house. Her father has never really been around, and continues to keep his distance. My other sister and I have young families who do not need to see their aunty like this. But we are at a loss as to what else we can do.

we have tried to offer our support and homes to her in the past, but it seems to make her worse. She recently seemed to get better, stopped using drugs, started seeking new employment, but then she gave into using drugs again, and has been delusional and manic ever since. She recently punched a window and required medical assistance. We pleaded with them to help us find somewhere to get her help, but due to her saying she was not suicidal, and likely because she was offensive, they were unable to help us with her that time.

I would love to know if anyone else has experienced this, and has any help or suggestions for us to try. Our family worries so much about my sister, but we do not want to keep enabling her behaviour. It is tearing us all apart, and I really want to help her, and us, so that we can all try to get back to being a happy family again soon!

thank you

2 Replies 2

quirkywords
Community Champion
Community Champion

Concerned sister welcome to the forum,

what a caring sister you are.

it is difficult with a person who is using drugs and may have mental heath issues,Does she use drugs as she may have mental health issues or does she have mental health issues as she uses drugs.

I think she may need help with her drug use but she would need to be willing to get help,
you need to look after yourself so your health isn’t affected,
By answering your post so it will go up list and more people will see it,

I had bipolar for many years before I got help as I was in denial,
I know how distressing it is for family to see a loved one struggling.
quirky

Thank you quirky 🙂 I’m glad to know that you sought help! I hope you found it worthwhile!

I believe my sister uses drugs to make herself feel better. However, it has clearly become an addiction. The drugs and alcohol really increase her mania, so I don’t know if she continues using drugs because of that too. We believed she had bipolar prior to the drug use, but she never wanted to see anyone about it, because she doesn’t believe she has it.

thank you so much for your response! Hopefully it won’t be too long until she allows us to help her out!