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Ideally you'd get him to open up and speak to a therapist or doctor. But getting there is the hard part... - Let him know there you are there for him. "hey bud

Ideally you'd get him to open up and speak to a therapist or doctor. But getting there is the hard part... - Let him know there you are there for him. "hey buddy, I'm your friend and if you ever need to talk I'm here." - Actively listen to him and validate his feelings. Don't critize just let him be. Ask questions like "how does that make you feel?" Don't offer solutions. - Is there anything he is interested in? Gaming, walking, making things, painting, animals etc. Use that as a carrot help draw him out. Even if he goes out by himself. Just doing things will help. - Read up on the topic and find books that might help. I like The Chimp Paradox books :)

lxg 9y ago
> - Is there anything he is interested in? Gaming, walking, making things, painting, animals etc. Use that as a carrot help draw him out. Even if he goes out by himself. Just doing things will help. I would vouch for that one too. Although everyone is different, this one worked for me, so I can share how it was looking from my perspective. Long story short. In my 20s I had also experienced a period of time (more than half a year) that I was spending a lot of time closed in my room, learning for studies and working on own projects, spending almost all the time in front of pc. This was also a way to escape from "problems, being always busy. As a result, I was also escaping from people as I was quite often feeling in a very low mood and did not want to share it with my friends. I always wanted my friends and others to see the positive me, the strong, successful one, not the low one with "problems". So I was awaiting for the magical moment when I will once again fell good, but, without success. Hence, as my mood was going down I was also more and more isolating myself, reducing the contact with people, and falling more and more into anhedonia. At that time what I really needed is exactly someone to be there, just like that. And to one again be able to enjoy the time. Fortunately I had few wonderful friends I could count on and who were really pushy to see with. Just passing by to chat, to go out even to take just a regular walk around the neighbourhood or to play together on the console. The final goal was to feel the unconditional acceptance, everyone has both good and bad moments in life and not always success is surrounding us. Moreover, it was great to stay in the "outside" world and to finally enrol into doing some exercises, together with friends. Step by step.

lxg 9y ago

> - Is there anything he is interested in? Gaming, walking, making things, painting, animals etc. Use that as a carrot help draw him out. Even if he goes out by himself. Just doing things will help. I would vouch for that one too. Although everyone is different, this one worked for me, so I can share how it was looking from my perspective. Long story short. In my 20s I had also experienced a period of time (more than half a year) that I was spending a lot of time closed in my room, learning for studies and working on own projects, spending almost all the time in front of pc. This was also a way to escape from "problems, being always busy. As a result, I was also escaping from people as I was quite often feeling in a very low mood and did not want to share it with my friends. I always wanted my friends and others to see the positive me, the strong, successful one, not the low one with "problems". So I was awaiting for the magical moment when I will once again fell good, but, without success. Hence, as my mood was going down I was also more and more isolating myself, reducing the contact with people, and falling more and more into anhedonia. At that time what I really needed is exactly someone to be there, just like that. And to one again be able to enjoy the time. Fortunately I had few wonderful friends I could count on and who were really pushy to see with. Just passing by to chat, to go out even to take just a regular walk around the neighbourhood or to play together on the console. The final goal was to feel the unconditional acceptance, everyone has both good and bad moments in life and not always success is surrounding us. Moreover, it was great to stay in the "outside" world and to finally enrol into doing some exercises, together with friends. Step by step.