Worried about son

Parents Forum
41

<p>What Northstarmom and the other posters urging you to seek mental health evaluation asap said! (I also agree that an LD assessment would be a good idea, but not yet. The young man's mood, his depression and possible suicidality, are the paramount concerns here. Also, his emotional state could affect his performance on the LD evaluation.)</p>

<p>The combination of your son's apparent depression and emotional meltdowns, his mood swings, and his statement that he doesn't want to go on suggest that you might have an emergency situation here. Under these circumstances, it is OK for you, as parent, to take decisive action to have your son evaluated, not only to find out what is going on emotionally, but even more importantly in the short run, to make sure he's not at risk for harming himself. </p>

<p>People who are depressed tend to believe that nothing can or will ever help them, and can't even begin to envision themselves feeling better. This being the case, the prospect of seeing a therapist may not seem to offer any hope, and it's not surprising that your son is not enthused. Please use whatever means are available to you to get him to a mental health professional -- no matter what your son says about going -- if only to determine if there is an immediate risk. Please get several referrals from your GP and start making calls to set up the soonest possible appointment right now. Be sure the mental health folks understand the urgency. A specialist in depression would be great, but any competent mental health professional in the disciplines that have been mentioned is going to be able to help you.</p>

<p>The physical assessment that's been suggested also needs to be set up asap, but a mental health assessment of risk is the most critical.</p>

42

<p>Please immediately do whatever it takes to get your son seen by a licensed mental health professional. Many mental health professionals go on vacation in Aug., so the sooner you take steps to get your son seen, the more likely he'll be seen very quickly.</p>

<p>As the parent of an offspring who lives with you and is financially dependent, you have a lot of power to force your son to see a therapist, so use that power to get him seen by a professional. His life may be at stake.</p>

43

<p>CINDYMA, my S has some similarities, and his situation may or may not hold true for your S. You mentioned that he has highs and lows and rarely in the middle. Is this new, or has he had this his whole life? My S had highs and lows constantly. We took his to a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, and a therapist. None could find anything wrong. Finally after much research on the internet (and knowing my son better than anyone) I found the cause- my S can't handle sugar. Any amount of sugar sends his blood glucose soaring and then dropping like a stone. The sugar response sent him first into an unbelievable high, then followed by the depths of depression. When we took all sugar out of his diet, he became a different child. Just another thing to look at when looking for solutions for your S.</p>