Hi daisy18,  first time poster and new to the forums here, I came to the forums to see if I could find any information for myself and your story is so glaringly similar I felt like I had to reach out. Firstly, I can see you are doing everything you can to help your son and it does sound like your son is suffering from depression. My story is similar, and I share this with you so you do not feel like you are alone in this struggle. My son is 15 and everything you described was the same for us. I don’t say this to cause you extra anguish or fear but it reached a head for us 3 weeks ago with an attempt at suicide which thankfully he survived. I know he was struggling but not to this extent. Following the attempt was when the support really started which sadly is a massive failing in our health system. He voluntarily spent some time in a mental health ward, linked in with a psychiatric team and we have a psychiatric care team provided through the public CYMHS team in our region. He did have time with a psychologist and private psychiatrist prior to the attempt, but I completely understand your pain and frustration at not being able to secure one. It is very very hard to get into a private psychiatric. I received referral after referral, my gp was hopeless in being able to help with a psychiatrist who had availability so I took it on myself and contacted over 20 adolescent psychiatrists and hit brick wall after brick wall until I found one. My advice is to stick with this, send out emails after email and get him into a psychiatrist as soon as you can. My experience was that a psychologist was not enough and cannot prescribe medication which can help. Mu son also prefers a psychiatric over a psychologist as he says they ask the ‘right questions’. Just like you, my son will not talk much with myself and my husband. A psychiatrist can help with a range of treatment options, including antidepressants and medication to help with his sleeping. It sounds like the antidepressants may need reviewed, different dosage or type.  I wouldn’t worry too much about the addiction to his phone and gaming, yes this looks problematic but it is his escape and way of coping. He will struggle to have motivation to do anything else and like you, we find coercing him to do something else is very difficult. My son was the same and has recently taken to vaping as a way of coping which is heartbreaking for me but in the scheme of things, minor. We are aiming to do one thing a day, whether it is a walk, watching a show or a trip to the shops (we’re working our way through the us office!) His schoolwork is likely to suffer if he is clinically depressed. He will be forgetful, unable to concentrate etc. having a conversation with the school and making this less stressful for him might be a start, for example, can homework and study at home be something for him to not do. Engaging with the school is important as I found there was a lot of pressure for my son from school , he is at a smaller private school and with the support of his psych team we are prioritising friendships and social connections over academic progress for now. You are not alone, your struggle is real and I feel you. I am hopeful there is light at the end of the tunnel, I am taking it day by day but with the right supports in place, he can recover. Take care and please reach out if things get too much. I understand it’s very difficult to talk to friends and family about this but you will likely be surprised by the number of parents with teens who are experiencing similar problems.  ... View more