Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi. My 17 year old son has been struggling for the past 3 years. He left school last year but didn’t attend his last year as the school refused to support his needs. I’m now on my 3rd EHCP application and he has recently been diagnosed with autism, ADHD and severe OCD. He suffers badly with his mental health. Can feel suicidal. He has severe social anxiety. He has no friends and is desperate to go back into education to make friends. 98% of the time, he sits in his room, playing on his PS5 or draws. I work 3 days a week but come home every couple of hours to see how he is. My husband has moved out because their relationship is strained. I no longer see friends or go out. I’m looking for people in simulator situations to chat to. Maybe you have a teenager that would like to make friends? I’m desperate. My mental health is awful. Im doing everything on my own….Norfolk area
Hi, Making friends is easy, meeting people you can be friends with is hard. That has been my experience. I had no friends at all at school. Only made friends at university as I ended up meeting likeminded people. However unless lucky enough to come across likeminded people (and I now realise my university was very well suited for this- and it is so much easier to meet people through shared interests.). I have recently actually started a PhD and it is very hard to meet new people, especially as it can take a lot of effort to put yourself into an environment where there is even a chance of meeting someone. Could your son maybe meet people through his interests (eg. art)? I know it can be so hard to push yourself to go somewhere where you might people, especially when the chances of coming across a suitable friend are low. I was lucky that I didn't conciously have to try and meet people at uni- it just happened through my course and activities like attending talks on science. However I am now also in a position where I need to try harder to be in a situation where I might meet people. At this very moment I am procrastinating on going out to a Fresher's fair where there is a chance I could actually meet someone. Friendships cannot be forced and the good thing is that making friends itself is really really easy when it is someone you get along with well- would never have thought I would say this as I had 0 friends at school and thought I was just completely getting it wrong and not trying hard enough. Reassure your son that he can make friends.