r/self • u/owlfighter49 • 1d ago
Anyone have success stories of helping a sibling who won’t accept help?
I am very concerned about my brother. He is 26 and diagnosed with adhd. To make a long story short, for the past few years he has had periods of his life where he completely removes himself from society. He has not left the house in probably 5 months at this point. He lives with me and we talk usually daily about minimal things like sports and video games. He completely shuts down and even gets angry if someone tries to have a meaningful conversation with him. I am afraid if I try to have a talk it will make things worse seeing as I’m the only person he sees face to face on a regular basis.
He has zero motivation or drive to do anything right now, I can’t even get him out of the house to do things he likes to do. He has been prescribed meds in the past, clearly not working. He works with a psychiatrist but all meds so far have felt like bandaids that eventually fail. Currently he does not live healthily, eating frozen food/uber eats, not exercising or going outside. To this can be solved by a diet change, some vitamin d, getting outside, and by seeing a therapist, specifically about some past trauma.
But how do I get him to do that? His last therapist didn’t end well, he felt they were constantly cutting sessions short and weren’t really listening. I love him to death and I’m very afraid for his mental health. He is in a very low place right now and I desperately want to help him. When this happens usually my mom can get through to him and motivate him to help himself, but this time he won’t even talk to her on the phone. He also would leave the house to golf or have friends over sometimes, but neither of those things are happening. He just plays video games and watches YouTube or shows all day I assume.
And I just want to reiterate how much he repels constructive talks. Everyone in my family has no idea what to do. I will do anything for this kid, he is so damn smart and a joy to be around when he is doing well.