Help needed

yorkshirelass43

New member
I am hoping that you guys can help us as a family.

Myself and my partner have been together 5 years, I have 4 children aged 13 - 22 years old and my partner has 2 children 20 and 28. My 4 children and my partners 20 year boy lives with us.

The problem is with my partners 20 year old, he is very socially awkward, has no friends, very shy, nervous and can not hold down a job and we are at a loss in how we can help him. He rarely speaks to my children and thats only if they speak to him first, he doesnt instigate conversations, doesnt carry on a conversation if one is started.

Just recently he found a part time job at a fast food place, we were really proud and it seemed to be going ok or so we thought. He came home last Thursday and told us he had been fired as he was too slow, we didnt create or have a go, we said that that was fine and we would help him again secure a new job. My partner rang the fast food place to ask them about a uniform deposit return and we found out that he had actually been fired 10 days previous....he had still been catching the bus on some days but had had a few days off as he said he was unwell etc.

This is not the 1st time we have found him lying about college or work and even after telling him that it doesnt matter what job he has or how he feels, if he cannot be honest with us then we cannot help him....we as parents then felt bad as we just dont understand why he needs to lie when we are always very supportive and kind.

His dad wasnt very happy after he found out again that he had been lying and did tell him that he needed to sort himself out...he then spent the following day taking him out handing out cv's etc to try help him secure a new job.

My stepson has had a college course and dropped out after a few weeks, again not telling us and us finding out after 3 months he wasnt going.

We just dont know what to do - we are kind and supportive to all of our children, we have sat down with him and asked why he is so nervous, why when we walk past him does he jump out of the way, we have asked why does he feel the way he does, why does he lie etc and we just get no answers.

We dont trust him to do the things he says he is going to do, we dont want to treat him like a child as he is an adult. I am quite firm with my children, I ensure they are taught to be self sufficient and to deal with finances, that when they get their wages they pay their bills 1st and foremost and then whats left is theres, my partner sometimes thinks I am too harsh and maybe I am but they are all very sensible with money, they either go to school or work, I just cannot get this across to my stepson without feeling guilty...most of the time I feel he is treated like he is a 10 year old.

I hope you can help not only in how we get this young man to start taking responsiblity for his actions but how we can help him overcome his social awkwardness as this is affecting his job prospects and his life.
 
^ great advice from phocus

Your stepson's very lucky to have a family that really care and want to understand and support him :)
It may be that he feels theres something wrong but doesn't actually know what it is to talk about it. I understand why he stalled telling the truth about the job. I imagine he was afraid of disappointing you. I don't think most sufferers know they're sufferers at 20. I struggled with a lot of normal stuff, dropped out of lots of things, avoided a lot and I felt inadequate a lot but I didn't know why I avoided or dropped out and quit.I didnt know what my problem was.

The good news is that theres no reason why ( if it is this thats the difficulty) your stepson can't go on to lead a great life, hold down a job, do a course, etc its just a little bit harder and requires some patience & support & some help :)
 

Facethefear

Well-known member
You need to get him to a doctor asap to get him medication to calm his nerves because he must be in a state of panic and depression. Then family therapy would help so you and he can understand this condition. He is a nervous wreck and not capable of going out and working around strangers if he acts so jumpy, etc. in the privacy of your home. Probably, he thinks he is going crazy if he can think at all.
He can't tell you what is going on with him or make any changes because he is in an emotional meltdown that could end tragically. He doesn't have the answers to your questions. Have you heard of the term "fight or flight"? He is in full flight mode.
Imagine he broke his leg and was in such great pain it was noticed by everyone. Would you have a conversation with him expecting he could diagnose and fix it on his own?
Would you tell him to get up and try to walk around and pretend it did not happen?
Would you ask him why/ when/ how he broke his leg? Would you inform him that his medical problem was affecting the entire family?
He needs to see a qualified medical professional or be admitted to a hospital today.
 
I disagree that medication is the immediate answer. Medication can make it worse, have terrible side effects, its addictive and is not always the best solution or even a solution. Period. Even if meds did help, it would take time to find the right one that actually helped. And before you hit on the right one, you're likely hit on several that either exaserbate the symptoms or have worse side effects. You could trade anxiety for a severe anxiety, severe intense mood swings, severe depression, life long addiction.


no no better to avoid that road if possible in my opinion. Its a delicate balance.
Meds are never a quick fix. It will take time to find one that suits his needs and as long as you're spending time its worthwhile exploring other options which don't have potentially long term damaging side effects.

I agree that you need to talk to him.


There are however a number of things you can do which can help without jumping to meds.

.CBT
.Group therapy
.Meditation
.Sports
.(If hes open minded- yoga)

I was given meds at 19/20 and they made me a lot worse. I was given different ones and they didnt resolve my problems. Then again at 23/24/25 and they didnt help either.

Having suffered for another year I went the hard way and did everything suggested to me.

Couple years on Ive tried cbt, therapy, group therapy, relaxation exercises, running, boxing have made the world of difference and I lead a full life now.
 
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Section_31

Well-known member
I agree with J in that medication shouldnt be the initial first step.....Im on medication and it DOES help me immensly but as J stated it can take quite a while of playing around wit different prescriptions and amounts before you notice whether or not its helpful. That said, i wouldnt dismiss it either though.

At the end of all of this nobody here is a doctor. He really needs to be assessed. And it may honestly be he doesnt know whats wrong or how to communicate it. And the the fact that he hid a bunch of issues is probably because hes plain scared, and the more things go wrong the more he feels he has to hide them because he perceives expectation without realizting he also has support. This is a downward spiral cycle, ive been there.

Now the issue is how to approach him about it?. Do you think he would be receptive to possibly getting help?. He has to WANT to in order for it to have any chance of succeeding.....

Keep us posted!
 
(disclaimer: Im not saying meds arent the answer for anyone Im simply saying that I think its worth trying everything else first to try and avoid what can be damaging bad stuff)

I wasn't given that choice at 19, I was just prescribed a bunch of pills that caused me absolute misery for years. And it was totally unhelpful. The other options were far more beneficial to me
 
At the end of all of this nobody here is a doctor. He really needs to be assessed. And it may honestly be he doesnt know whats wrong or how to communicate it. And the the fact that he hid a bunch of issues is probably because hes plain scared, and the more things go wrong the more he feels he has to hide them because he perceives expectation without realizting he also has support. This is a downward spiral cycle, ive been there.

Now the issue is how to approach him about it?. Do you think he would be receptive to possibly getting help?. He has to WANT to in order for it to have any chance of succeeding.....

Keep us posted!

Well said LG :)
 
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