16 year old is lazy to extremes

[chrissied1983]

Hello, I never thought I would be one to post here but i'm worried about my son.

He's 16 and has become more and more withdrawn as he's grown, and its reached the point where his behaviour has got worrying

He spends all his free time in his room, either on the computer or playstation but it goes beyond what I would think of as the normal kind of moody teenage behavior, especially with personal hygeine

1. Bedroom is a mess, can't see the carpet
2. Doesn't brush his teeth
3. Doesn't shower or bathe
4. Refuses to get a haircut
5. Doesn't get changed after school

Number 5 has come to a head as not only does he not get changed after school, but he has taken to wearing his uniform in bed to sleep.

He wears the same clothes 24/7 for days at a time. He says its so he can sleep as much as possible and not spend time in the morning getting dressed

I am at my wits end with this, his latest laziness is so extreme i'm worried about mental illness but I wouldn't even know where to start

Please make him an appointment with the GP. these are all symptoms of depression in teens, so it would be good for him to speak to someone to get the help he may need x

symptoms of teen depression

It seems clear that there is something going on leading to his self-neglect and I agree with the previous poster that it is likely depression. I don't imagine labelling his behaviour as laziness/ him as lazy really helps. Reading between the lines, if this is causing a lot of conflict I would suggest looking into family/ systemic therapy.

I agree with the others, this seems beyond 'lazy'.