Difficulty with teenage "stepson"...

[doitforthekids]

Wait... What??? :err:

You never mentioned that he had trauma in his past before. That changes everything.

EVERYTHING.

Really, I'm shocked that you didn't think this was relevant.

If he is medicating PTSD with street drugs, everything is a thousand times more complex. He needs help, but he won't want to get help as long as he thinks he can keen it under control himself.

He will probably not be able to just stop. Not only because of addiction, but because stopping would bring back the symptoms of his PTSD. ANYTHING is better than that. There is nothing you can do to him that would make living with untreated, unmedicated PTSD worth it.

I suggest you go get advice from a profession. Go see someone yourself, and get advice on how to help him. This is not the kind of thing you can fix on your own, and it's not the kind of thing you can learn how to deal with on an internet forum.

I actually didn't know about the PTSD until it started being used as an excuse later after he turned 18. My girlfriend and I go to NAMI meetings and are seeing a professional. The problem is that he won't get help. No amount of reasoning and pleading with him has worked. Unless he is an immediate danger to himself or others, we also can't force him to. It's heartbreaking seeing him unwind like this. I can't imagine how his mother feels.

 

[singledad]

I actually didn't know about the PTSD until it started being used as an excuse later after he turned 18. My girlfriend and I go to NAMI meetings and are seeing a professional. The problem is that he won't get help. No amount of reasoning and pleading with him has worked. Unless he is an immediate danger to himself or others, we also can't force him to. It's heartbreaking seeing him unwind like this. I can't imagine how his mother feels.

Yes, it's a catch - 22. He won't be able to quit the drugs while he is suffering from PTSD, and he won't be able to deal with that as long as he is on drugs. He kinda needs to be forced to stay clean and deal with his issues, but that isn't really possible, unless you can have him committed and even that may not be enough.

It must be heart-breaking to watch... And I can't think of any more advice. All I can say is don't lose hope, and stay focused on helping him, not punishing him. He Must be going through he'll...