My son had many close friends in elementary school, but in 5th grade we moved and he started at a new school. Since then he has tried to make new friends but they have fizzled out. He has no good friends at school, they don’t hang out outside of school, or talk to each other outside of school. He has cried to me telling me he hates school cause his “friends” aren’t really his friends and they often ignore him. He has 2 online friends that he knows in real life from his old school. He spends hours laughing and playing games with them online. It’s the only place he feels any joy. He’s never been into sports, and hobbies have fallen away. He used to be a skateboarder but since that activity was very alone, he stopped doing it . Now his grades are slipping, he lies about doing assignments so he can get to his friends. I know he’s longing for connection, and feels sad a lot because he doesn’t find joy in anything besides online time, and going on trips with family.
I try to take the video games away or restrict them, but he just seems so depressed I get worried. He had bad anxiety as a child, and was in therapy for years. He refuses to go back to therapy, and as a nurse who works in mental health, I know if you don’t want to go, it won’t work. I’m at a loss, I don’t know how to help him.
