r/Advice•
Key-Monitor6635

My idiot brother (Whom I love), is causing my family trouble and doesn't realize the mess he's in

We are already kinda struggling to get by and aren't in that great of a situation (stowing away in an apartment complex we are not supposed to be in), my mom has done EVERYTHING, for us. She just lost everything a year ago and still hasn't been able to get back on her feet, she has been doing everything she can, but this has always been the situation, my father isn't in the picture. Mom had to raise us both with support of family, however, due to work, never really had time to check up on us like that. Well, with schools accounting for 8 hrs of the day, alot can happen when you go somewhere your totallly at the mercy at and have to do it 175-200 days out the year, for 12-14 years.

I have my own problems, however, due to that my brother and I were getting outside influences and never really have anyone to talk to if something didn't go well. My brother has always had ADHD, and swears taking his medicine, "makes him want to commit suicide", as he states. I can get where he is coming from and convinced mom to take him off medicine. Me (19M), thought that since he was off his medicine, he would fix his behavior up. Little did I know it got worse, he keeps acting out, getting into trouble, and disrespecting my family (the few people on the earth that care for him).

Look, I know the school system is bs, it punishes boys far more than girls, as we like to move more often than not, etc. I also know it's not all that for actually getting any type of decent life experience as they prioritize passing grades more than failing and growing. However, albeit unfair, it's still a shitty system put in use. So to prevent any issues form falling back on our family, he should understand that some people just has to endure until they can move on. Did I want to do that? No, but I cared about people other than myself, and I don't think he does. I think he acts selfish.

He hates when people say he only cares about himself, and I know school can be tuff, especially a bad one. However, I think he has to think towards the future more, he isn't selfish (at least I don't think he tries to come off as that), but he does selfish things! It's like Jekyll and Hyde with him! One day he'll be all nice, the next it's raising his voice and talking disrespectfully to my family members (a lot of them are women).

The biggest point however, is his behavior OUTSIDE, of school! He gets into constant fights, gets kicked out of school, roams the streets, tries to act all tuff guy. It's annoying to say the least.

I get the "i'm misunderstood" stuff, I went through a similar stint at one point, where there seems to be such a lack of opportunity, yet the place INSISTS it's there to provide you one, so it feel like your stuck in limbo. However, i just don't get that school to prison pipeline bs. I know it exists and it's real, but I wanted NOTHING to do with school after it ended, I didn't WANT any of that crap to follow me, non pipeline, nuh uh! So I kept up with it until I could kick rocks and leave.

However, what he's doing is going out in some type of blaze of glory. He doesn't realize he's just 15/ It literally makes no sense to get into police trouble while in high school (which is ridiculous btw, crossroads and the police working together to prospect "future criminals", is the most disgusting thing ever. They don't really care about, "rehabilitating" these kids, and can clearly see it's environment that shapes success, yet they will still write these guys off as "lost causes". I hate this country and I hate its systems, that's why it abhors me that my dumb idiot brother can't see the writing on the wall or smell the damn roses.

These people don't care about you, your giving them exactly what they want, someone else to give subsidized prison labor too, while their kids go to MIT or Stanford and put you on an ai subscription. I don't get why he would blow up his whole life ahead of him, on something as trite and useless as a public, American, high school, it's absurd, and to top it all off, show an ass to the people who REALLY, want you to succeed. Not the officer who lets you storm out of class and skip school and doesn't even bat an eye, but your family who argues with you for some tomfoolery.

This might be the dumbest shit i've ever seen. yet, here I am, on reddit asking for advice, because i've tried to have this talk and he doesn't listen to me, it's always some excuse about not being understood (and he may very well be, but it's hard to understand someone when they don't want to meet you in the middle), it's "understand me while i screw my life up, understand why i'm doing it, but let me not understand why you think that's fucking stupid and listen to what i should do to stop it", while he still continues to fuck up.

So what should I do? He doesn't listen, knows he doesn't know it all, but doesn't listen, and storms out whenever he doesn't like something and runs away from confrontation to fuck off with his friends who he will barely contact 4 years after he graduates highschool (if he does, I still have faith, the school isn't that good tbh).

I don't hate my brother nor do i spite him, I guess I just don't understand why he would let this mess up everything? maybe he dosen't think he HAS a future, maybe instead of going to reddit for advice, I should just "talk to him". Unfortunately, as right as he was, at us not understanding him/him being misunderstood, as I stated in the sentence above, it's hard to understand someone, who doesn't want to COME to an understanding, to fix their situation...

Tldr: My brother is screwing up his life through school, it's negatively impacting my family, I don't know what to do and just want him to survive till he graduates and most likely matures going through real life (Job, bills, life balance, etc)

Posted Apr 24, 2026, 8:32 PM UTC

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