I talked to him a bit more about it last night after I posted the message above. This is all entangled with his incredibly low self-esteem. The job went "too well" yesterday. It was too "perfect." He made a good impression. He thinks he doesn't "deserve" to enjoy himself or have a good job that makes him happy. He's afraid it will go wrong in some way or that he'll subconsciously self-sabotage.
I told him that if anyone on this planet deserves to have something nice happen to them, it's him. He seemed to accept that. I wish he'd move away from the whole "deserve" mentality anyway. We don't get what we deserve; we get what we get. It's best not to get our egos caught up too much with what we get.
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Originally Posted by brookwest
I hope your son can motivate himself to return to work. Work helps me cope with life. I make friends there who see me as a worker and not a mental health client. Being seen as a mental health client hurts.
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I agree 100%. He needs this to start building a positive self-image as a healthy contributing member of society rather than a "crazy" person who "acts odd." This job will also bring him into contact with other people in his age group who work there. In general they'll be positive people - or at least more positive that the people he's chosen to hang around with in the past. He might make a friend - or even find a girlfriend!