hi abby

i think that could be a number of things, including a severe case of depression and/or possibly a personality disorder or anxiety. I myself suffer from depression and the loss of concentration and being unable to enjoy things really hits home. the racing thoughts can also be a symptom of depression, they used to keep me awake at night, or could also be anxiety. from the other things maybe even the possibility of some sort of neurological problem... if a scan before didn't show anything at least i would keep in touch with the doctor for maybe more tests or something.

but it really sounds like seeing a psychiatrist is really in order even if there are other things going on as well. depression and other illnesses are very treatable now and are much better understood than they were years ago. depression is now known to be possibly caused by an imbalance in brain chemicals in some cases... only a professional doctor can diagnose what might be wrong and how to go about treating it. Treatment may consist of talk therapy and possibly a combination of talk therapy and medications. There is all sorts of misinformation and fear among some people at the very thought of mental illness and that keeps people from seeking treatment, which is a shame because very effective treatments are now available.

so a good question is why don't your parents want him to see a pdoc especially since their doctor recommended it? If they are making assumptions as to what mental illness is based on the misconceptions in society then they are doing your brother an injustice in my opinion... keeping him from treatment that may help him. if he is suffering from clinical depression or some other illness like bipolar or something it is likely not going to to away on its own and even now it is keeping your brother, at least something is, from enjoying the healthy life that he deserves. i think it would be important at the very least to find out what the cause of this is even if a pdoc rules out some things. it sounds to me though that some sort of disorder is at least playing a large role in what it going on.

assuming again that your parents don't want to take him to a pdoc because they think it is a sign of weakness or something, there is a lot of information available on the web and in books about depression and other things, maybe some better understanding will help relieve whatever fears they might have. they took him to the hospital when they thought there might be a neurological condition causing his problem, they should be able to do the same if a psychiatric problem is suspected. think of it like seeing a specialist that he was refered to by his doctor.

i hope your brother can get whatever help he needs to get past this. he is lucky he has family like you looking out for his interests. asking questions to find out more is probably the best thing you can be doing for him right now.

good luck and let us know how things go.

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