To say enough is enough?

[TheWinterOne]

I have a brother who is known to be a right troublemaker. He is/was (he says no more but I'm not so sure) heavily in to drugs, thieved off family and is a constant liar.

I seem to only hear from him when he wants something. It's always been me contacting him to keep in touch and most of the time he wants money. Generally it's a 'I've been an idiot, I'm trying to change and given everything up because it's fucking me up!"

Me being a sap has always given him the benefit of the doubt and hoped he was serious. He's a very jealous person also and wants to know how often I see and speak to a family member. To the point of if I meet up with this person and he doesn't know we have to walk on egg shells about it.

Anyway, yesterday the family member phoned and asked me if I'd told my brother that they preferred me (seriously that was his question - I'm a bloody adult for godsake!) and if I told my brother I was treated out more.

I told said family member that it was a pile of shit and brought it up with my brother who started ranting about how he hates me and never wants to see me again.

Without getting in to conflict I just hung up the phone. 20 minutes later he text saying he was sorry and thinking about ending it all.

I haven't responded to him. Every time he gets caught out he tries using the "ending it" line.

AIBU to say fuck it and completely cut him out and not want to speak or see him again?

He's my brother and despite all his faults I love him. As they say - you can't choose family. But I can't be doing with his shit. I just can't do it anymore. He's completely emotionally draining.

As you say, you can't choose family. So why bother with the ones you don't like? It's not mandatory to maintain contact with arseholes, it just seems to be a strange sense of obligation some people have under the guise of 'family'.

Agreeing with azzbiscuit here, I think you might want to distance yourself from him for your own sake-he sounds way too high maintenance. Spend time with who you want to OP, sounds like you'd have a better time with other family members if your brother was distanced.

Thanks for the replies both. Yes, distancing myself seems like the only option for the sake of myself and my children. Everything with him is such a big drama and if he's not the centre of everything all hell breaks loose.

I think the general advice for dealing with these sort of suicide threats is to call the police on 101 and tell them you think he is yanking your chain but he has made the threat. They then drop round and check on him - bollocking him if he is just being attention seeking.

You could try doing that with him. You've then acted on his threats, without having to directly engage with him.