Hello - We have a DS who's nearly 15. He's had anxiety issues in the past. Whilst he can be very funny and sometimes enthusiastic he has low self esteem and seems to be actively avoiding spending time with some groups of his friends.
Worryingly he's said things like "I'll be dead by then" when asked what he's going to do when he's older; he's said "what's the point in living" at another point. There have been a handful of similar comments. These are stated matter of factly - almost like he's testing for a reaction. However, he did become very, very angry at some merry over exuberance involving some people we were near on a recent holiday exclaiming loudly (for all around to hear) and angrily "Why are they so f*g happy".
Whilst he does seem to often avoid spending time with some groups of his friends (we've wondered if it's a certain individual who's part of the group he avoids), he seems far more keen to see / engage with his other group of friends. The initial group has certain members he'll spend time chatting iwth on the phone, and he seems happy, laughing away when we can hear him.
We've tried to talk to him about his mental health and tried to encourage him to speak to people about it but he's very quick to anger when approached about it and the conversation is shut down by anger/negative emotion. it feels like approaching it takes us backwards rather than forwards.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this and been able to navigate it? To our amateur eyes it feels like he's not got a major mental health issue but is highly susceptible to a potentially life threatening crisis given his history, his verbalised outlook on death/unhappiness and negative self narrative. Any advice very welcome.
Many thanks !