[AllanY]

Hey all,
I just got directed to this site from a friend, so apologies if this is not the right location to post.
My brother was admitted to UChicago a few years back. He's really bright and was going to major in mathematics, but he also doesn't communicate very well with people and isn't that socially perceptive. While at college, he got into a lot of World of Warcraft, missing classes and skipping his part-time job, and eventually flunked some of his courses and was fired. He withdrew from the college and has taken some courses at our local community college in the meantime. He was depressed, but since then, he's done volunteering work, got a job at the local YMCA, and tutored students in his year off.
He's seen some psychologists for his depression and emotional issues, but our overbearing father was always there, usually judging, which I'm pretty sure is exacerbating the issue.

He was doing okay up until recently, when UChicago turned down his readmission process again last year, for some trivial reasons. It's probably terrible for him, since he had a bright chance up until then.
Since then, things have been going downhill, and his grades are tumbling. He had a large project to do in one of his classes at community college, for instance, which he just skipped entirely and has put it off ever since the deadline passed.
He's been pretty depressed and hides his emotions now, even from the psychologists and support groups that our parents have made him attend, and I'm afraid that things will not get better. He doesn't like to talk about his issues and seems to have lost hope in himself.

He's still hooked to World of Warcraft. I've abducted his computer before when I tried to help, but I'm afraid that he might be even more depressed or hurt himself, as he certainly expressed. He demanded his computer back repeatedly, and eventually I gave it back.

Anyone have any advice on what I can do to help, if there is anything???

[Omers]

I know that his therapists likely can't talk to you about him due to HIPPA but are they open to hearing what you are seeing? If you can make sure you bring up the social difficulties as they may indicate something more than just depression. Support groups may not be his thing if social skills are an issue and may be draining him more. I know that WOW can be very addictive so you may want to ask about that in the addictions forum (??? I don't venture over there much so... just a thought).