The question My son is 26 and intelligent and lives on his own. But he can’t hold down a job and spends his time playing video games and living on takeaways. He has inherited some money, which is about to run out.
The problems began when he started smoking cannabis at 16. It quickly became a serious addiction. He has struggled with depression since his teens and has seen several counsellors, but doesn’t appear to have made much progress.
He takes antidepressants, which help a bit. He stopped smoking quite abruptly about a year ago, but not much changed. He is doing an access to higher education course and has a university place in September, but he rarely goes to college.
He never cleans up, doesn’t do laundry and his personal hygiene is poor. I’ve been doing his housework, but he’s asked me to stop. I want to, but I also know how disgusting it will get.
He had me all to himself until he was six, when I met my husband. We had three more children. My son found this difficult, but now he has good relationships with each of his siblings.
The relationship between my husband and my son has never been easy, but it isn’t terrible. His biological father cut off all ties early on. How do I get him to change? Philippa’s answer It’s possible he may be getting too many of his connection and contact needs via the internet and thus manages to avoid the more satisfying connections that are possible in real life.
Reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt may help you u.
