Need advice for my brother

[Btmnk21]

I am looking for advice on how to best help my youngest brother who is age 28.

 

He currently lives at my parents house halfway across the country and has lived at home is whole life all but one year when he briefly joined the Marines.

 

In high school he had a tough time. He followed my younger brother in a lot of ways playing video games all day and role-playing Fantasy games rather than socializing or doing any sports or activities. This resulted in him gaining a lot of weight and becoming very sensitive about it. He essentially stopped doing school work and did not graduate on time. He would constantly lash out at me or my family for the slightest perceived insult or criticism, often physically lashing out.

 

After High School he joined the Marines and passed boot camp losing a ton of weight. However after being moved to his base I guess it all fell apart and he stopped obeying orders and was discharged.

 

Since that time almost 8 years ago he has lived at home isolated on his computer playing games watching videos and eating food. He has not had a job and my parents have practically given up. He is somewhat cooperative in terms of doing chores but is not self-sufficient in any regard.

 

Another thing to mention is that his social skills and speaking ability and conversation skills are almost non-existent. He will attempt to be the know-it-all at every conversation even if he has no idea what he's talking about. He mumbles and is hard to understand. He won't try to relate to things people are saying, but will go off on his own tangents about his obscure videos or games. Because of this he has limited his relationships with everyone around him. Talking to him in person is impossible if you bring up anything about him negative... His weight his job his living situation he gets very upset. It's very sad.

 

My question is what can I do to help? Is there a book or a gift that is appropriate for Christmas? I want to help but this seems like a hopeless situation...

[DanZee]

Hmm. I think he has a mental illness and he needs professional help. Giving him a book that he won't read won't help. Maybe pay for a visit at a psychologist's office.