Hurting for my family

Today I caught my baby sister high from huffing gold paint she is 16 and I am heart broken I don't know what to do all I can do and have done is cried. I told our mom, but I'm just in disbelief, she is the Angel of the family everyone's favorite. She's very smart but now I'm scared for what can happen to her. I wanna curl up with her and ask her why and take all the pain that makes her do this away. It all connected that she has been doing this for a bit now. When she goes to the restroom and came out it would smell like paint and I notice she would hurry out of the restroom to our room or there was always plastic bags with paint at the bottom of them. But she is such a good kid that to connect she was huffing it has never crossed my mind for a mili second what do we do? And or there levels of the paint is gold the worse she could huff?

Sorry to know about that. There should be investigation about that in order to be confirmed and your mother should be more observant since you have told her about that. It should not be just ignored cause it could lead to serious problems if true.

I am so sorry to hear this! I actually had a friend who died as a very young teen from huffing. It is a really scary, toxic habit. I would absolutely talk with her about this, and with your parents and learn as much as you can about it and try to teach them a bit. I don't think this is addictive the way some things are, I'm not sure, but I know it easily causes brain damage and it can be really easy to overdo.

Be careful making her the "Angel of the family" though - I have had this reputation and it is a lot of pressure, this could be some of the underlying issues?

This is so scary and so sad. I know young people who have died from this. It needs to be taken seriously and she needs to seek counselling before something seriously happens to her. This breaks my heart so I can only imagine how you are feeling and how disappointed and worried you must be. You need to sit her down and talk to her. Express your concerns and see if she will share with you why she is doing this. I will keep your sister and your family in my prayers. Hugs

I am so sorry about what you and your family are going through. Your sister needs some help in sorting through this issue as soon as possible. She probably needs a good physical too to see how her health has been affected. Whatever you guys choose to do you must get the support that is needed in such a situation.

I think you should confront her the next time the comfort room smells like paint, that's some sort of evidence already. Then if she denies about it then mention the smell of paint that is still lingering in the bathroom. Ask her that she can open up to you and you will not judge her. If she resists, then it's time to call for professional help like a counselor or a psychiatirst to help her.

Have you and your family talked to your sister about her paint-sniffing activities? If she's not going through something which may have encouraged her to sniff a strong-smelling substance, perhaps she's suffering from a slight mental disorder. Maybe she's just hooked on the smell and the effects thereafter. You really need a good, long talk. This will help you find out the reason why she's doing it. Consult a behavioral expert too.

Paint and other aromatic solvents (like the "Rugby" brand) can produce a certain high for those who sniff it. The high may not be as grave as the high produced by drugs. However, constant inhalation will eventually lead to the same outcome - damaged brain, hallucinations and loss of will and conscious thought.

It can be quite dangerous on the health too. I suggest you try and be more involved in your little sister's life. She's at a vulnerable, age. If she is going through a tough period right now it can be very delicate. Be there for her, and be the cool person that she'd want to share her trouble with. With a good support system everyone can snap out of it. Make sure to get involved before it starts affecting her healthy. Good luck!

I never heard about this addiction. It is horrible anyway. Maybe you should try to talk to hear and try to show you understand her situation and her sensitive age. Maybe it is not that serious after all. If she is a smart girl as i understand from your words she will realize with your help and help of your family. Judging will not help but understanding will. I hope will she get over that stuff and live her life like before.

Sometimes when a child is viewed as the one who seems perfect and the adult who hears about the child doing something bad may try to ignore it and think the person may be jealous of the child, and are just saying this to try and get attention and only too late realize there is a problem. I think she could be suffering from depression or maybe finding the schoolwork hard at that age and remember when I was that young I would wonder when it will be over and want to just do other things and try and forget the work I had to do which can be real easy to do in today's world. I reckon if she has someone to talk to and know she will be safe when talking about the issue, will not hide what is going on and talk about why they are doing this and hopefully can get the help they need to overcome this.

Huffing paint is definitely cause for concern for your sister's health. You should let her parents know, so that everyone can help her stop and discuss with her the negative health consequences that can occur. Start by removing the paint from the household. Obviously, paint is not hard to come by, so there may have to be some checking in her room and other places to make sure she doesn't have paint or other inhalents hidden anywhere later on. Be firm but supportive. Not helping her is just enabling her, and what if her problem gets worse?

I think she should get some help. Sniffing paint sounds more like something psychological than anything else. Not only will you get a high from sniffing paint you'll get brain damage too. I think she should really get help with this habit before she ends up facing serious side effects from it. This is really unfortunate.

I think you are very caring indeed. How many kids get into huffing things like glue and sharpie markers? This maybe an old habit or she maybe doing it because she has gone through something and is huffing paint as a comfort mechanism. Let her know that she can't go on like this. Yes because it is wrong but because she could lose her life. Of no one will believe what you say than show the evidence with the plastic bags with paint in it. It is not about shaming her but making sure she has a support group, which can't form if non one knows you believe she has a problem.

The smart sometimes get bored with themselves I guess. I see you posted this November 25th. Ask her a couple of direct question. Why are you doing this? Do you know what it does to you?
Look it up together. It's obviously damaging. Easy way to get high and paint is not illegal. The effect is like alcohol, intense euphoria, and hallucinations. Depends upon the substance and amount. Mostly in the immediate the behavior that results is the dangerous part or lack of oxygen. Cardiac arrest or failure. Wanting to vomit. The long term problem is brain damage.
My guess is she wants the intense euphoria. This would be the effect to get addicted to. There are other ways much safer to achieve that.

Most teenagers her age will avoid telling their parents about their problems and struggles. But they would feel more comfortable to talk about this with their older brothers or sisters, because they are closer to their age, and would be able to understand them better. Try to initiate a conversation with her about her life and ask her if she's all right, but make sure it doesn't sound like you are inquiring her. Get closer to her and try to help as much as possible. She must be overreacting from something small, as a boy not liking her.

So sorry to hear about your sister, I started huffing when I was 6 or 8. It all started by accident, my grandpa used that smelly yellow glue to fix his shoes. I was there and really started to like the smell of it. I didn't know it was bad until I told my mom, and she told me that was not ok. So there is a huge chance that your baby sister started getting into this just like I did: complete accident. But to be honest is doesn't matter so much how she got into this, what really matters is how you guys are planing to help her.

My thoughts are with you as this is not an easy issue to deal with. I am glad that you have told your mom about it in an attempt to help your sister. She needs professional help and the sooner the better. Huffing is a very dangerous way to get high and ends very badly for most people. I hope that your family steps up to help your sister and you since you should not have to be the responsible one. Good luck and I send my prayers.

I think the kid started huffing paint out of curiosity since kids are naturally curious and undergo alot of learning through observation and touch using the five senses. Paint has certain hydrocarbons which when inhaled can elicit a high. I know alot of street children who are addicted to glue which has active principles similar to those in paint.