Our 30-year-old son has a mental illness and lives at home. His behavior is erratic at times. What is our next step?
There is a lot of complexity in this situation. These are older parents trying to monitor a 30-year-old adult. In cases like this, my first questions are: Is he on medication? If so, I would want to run blood work to see what’s happening physiologically. I would also recommend a full psychological evaluation to better understand his mental and emotional state.
If he is pacing at night, that signals his body is in a state of stress. We may not know the cause, but the pacing suggests internal anxiousness. That’s why blood work and a psychological evaluation would be important — to get clarity about the underlying issues.
Because he is 30 and living with his parents, they may or may not have the ability to influence him. That’s why I would look for additional social resources in the community that might be available to support him.
Without proper medical or mental health evaluations, it’s difficult to give very specific guidance. But the next steps involve stepping back, assessing what the parents can and cannot influence, and identifying what additional help is needed.
There may be events or experiences in his past that have contributed to his difficulty functioning socially. It doesn’t sound like he has a job or is able to perform typical responsibilities, and I would want to understand what is behind that.
This is why looking into social resources or government programs could be important — services that offer education, help with resumes, work readiness skills, and support in finding part-time employment. Programs like that can help him slowly build confidence and the skills needed for independence.
In this situation, as parents are managing medications and daily life, a full psychological evaluation would be an important next step.
