My brother has always suffered from mood swings.
Even when we were small children, he’d get angry or depressed very quickly.
His emotional issues were never severe enough to require therapy or medication. My whole family knew how to handle him. We all thought that him joining the service was a good idea. We expected the discipline, guidance and camaraderie to be beneficial. However, being isolated from his family and thrown into life-threatening situations worsened his problems. A tour of active duty resulted in PTSD. My brother came back to us with severe anxiety and depression. He suffered migraines and insomnia, couldn’t hold down a job and had trouble even leaving the house. He was extremely uncomfortable in new places and around unfamiliar people. My whole family was deeply worried about him. Although we got him into counselling, it didn’t seem to help. He was prescribed medication but refused to take it because of the horrible side-effects. I did all sorts of research into his symptoms and potential treatments and started learning more and more about cannabis. I read one success story after another from people who’d completely turned their lives around. I urged and basically bullied my brother into getting a medical marijuana card. I went through the process with him. Because I have arthritis, I was able to also get a legal card. He and I went to the dispensary and spoke with the budtenders. I was totally impressed with their knowledge, compassion and dedication to finding the right medication for my brother. Since he’s started smoking medical cannabis, my brother is a new person. He has a positive outlook for the first time.