BonnieBlue

Hello, I am new here. My 21 year old son has been addicted to drugs for about 4 years (from what he says) I did not know until about 1 1/2 years ago and tried to get him help. He is currently trying to DETOX himself without any support whatsoever. He is hallucinating that he is being followed all the time. He has lost 20 pounds. I can no longer allow him to sleep in the house because I am concerned about his erratic behavior. He destroys and "trashes" everything he touches in an extremely erratic manner.

What can I do other than try to encourage him to get outside help? He says if I "mention him getting help again" he will never consider it.

I am afraid for him and my family. I cannot sleep at night worrying about this. It is affecting my other children very badly as well. Our home and finances are being destroyed over this as well. I pray and have others praying, but he seems to be getting worse and worse. I know God is in control, but everything here is so out of control now.

Thank you all so much for any advice you can give.

suki44883

Welcome to SR, Bonnie. You will find a lot of support here. Also, please check out our Friends and Family forum. There are many people there who are going through, or have gone through the same thing. Here's a link to the F&F forum.

Friends and Family of Substance Abusers - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to help your son until he is ready. It doesn't sound like he is, so your focus should be on yourself and your other children.

Please know that we understand what you are going through and we are here to support you.

BackToSquareOne

Don't know where your from BonnieBlue but in the USA most counties have crisis intervention workers. They can evaluate the situation and figure out what options might be available. I would think that if he's actively hallucinating that would qualify him as a danger to himself or others. Just a thought.

Terminally Unique

1. What drug(s) was your son taking?

Withdrawal from some - alcohol and methadone come to mind - can be fatal.

Others will induce psychosis.

2. Has your son gone to "treatment" before?

It might explain his reluctance.

I would encourage supervised medical detox from what you've mentioned, though not necessarily "rehab".

suki44883

All good suggestions, however, if he is 21 years old, he is considered an adult and you cannot force him into treatment. Having an adult committed against their will is very difficult, as it should be. Again, no one can "help" him if he does not want to find recovery.

I know how hard it is to watch people we love make such bad choices, but if they are of legal age, then we really have no choice in the matter. It comes down to controlling what we can, and that means controlling how WE deal with the situation.

I hope you will post in our Friends & Family forum. You will find a lot of good support there.

Taking5

He needs medical detox, which is not the same as treating his addiction. One of the primary goals of medical detox in severe alcohol or benzo withdrawal cases is to save the patient's life. No BS. Even then very bad things should happen. You should call the ambulance now, worry about what your son thinks of it later.

As was mentioned before he is hallucinating and trashing the place ten he is a danger to himself and thats how you get him against his will. If that desn't work have him arrested for trashing your place, and once he is in police custody they have to give him medical attention.