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I need help for my adult son

JasperB
Community Member

Hi, I need help for my adult son who has become withdrawn. He sleeps all day and stays up all night. Her is also taking so much time off from his job. I have tried to have discussions with him but he keeps saying that he is alright. I have spoken to him about going to the doctor and getting a mental health assessment and he said he would but doesn’t follow through. His mother passed away last October after an 18 month battle with cancer and he has not shown much emotion since then. Please help me help him 

1 Reply 1

Sophie_M
Moderator
Moderator
Dear JasperB,  

Thank you for posting and a big welcome to the Beyond Blue forums. We can hear you’re going through a difficult time with your son, and we wanted to let you know that we’re here for you and your family.  

We can hear that you are a caring parent and want the best for your son. We are so sorry to hear about the loss of his mother and often dealing with grief is a journey with many ups and downs. We hope that you have someone that you can talk to and some support during this tough time as well. It can be difficult seeing a person close to us who may be struggling, although we can't force them to seek help, often times just being there and letting them know that you are a 'safe' place for them to share (when that time comes) is super helpful.

It might be worth discussing that although he isn't ready to seek help at the moment, that you are always there to talk and it's normal to go through a whole range of emotions with grief. You could also let them know that there are resources for him to access anytime he wants to talk, we've attached some options below that can be helpful.

You or your son can call our counsellors at any time, on 1300 22 4636. They can help you talk this through and will also be able to help you plan what's next so that you have that support in place. We'd also recommend talking to Griefline, they are an amazing resource for dealing with grief, on 1300 845 745 (6am to midnight AEST every day): https://griefline.org.au/  

Thank you again for sharing here, please look after yourself during this time and know that we are always here to listen.

Kind regards,   

Sophie M