I am one of 5 siblings and we all dabbled in drug taking at one time or another. Our 2nd eldest brother who was the brightest of the bunch sailed through school with excellent exam results. At that time he was smoking weed. In his first year at uni he got into a heap of other drugs and ended up in a psychiatric unit suffering from "psychosis". It was a scary time for him and also for the whole family as we were so worried about him. Unfortunately he has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia which is a severe mental illness. The whole family is very protective toward him. He takes daily medication and copes OK. He still has a great sense of humour and now works in a music store and has wonderful support from his friends BUT outside of his friends and family, there is indeed a huge negative stigma attached to mental illness. He has never contemplated suicide but has lost three friends to suicide in the past 6 years.
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