My 22 yr old son (Type I diabetic) is online for > 8 hrs/day. He has failed his college courses, ignored his health (HBA1C’s >12) and lost jobs due to oversleeping.
We spoke with Cyber Junkie author Kevin Roberts who personally used (and recommends) 12 step method to overcome, but he didn’t hit bottom/admit he had a problem until age 30. This is pretty late for a diabetic.
My son is in denial, so we’re trying to get him help, but we can’t legally force him since he’s an adult. There could be depression there, and low self esteem. We’re not sure which mental health and parenting tools/strategies to use which will incentivize him in a timely manner. Some address the symptoms versus the cause.
Solutions/issues we have considered: 12 step program, Intervention, Therapy, Joslin Diabetes Center, non Virtual Self Esteem opportunities, Frontal lobe doesn’t develop fully until approx age 25, Tough Love constructs, enablement issues, mentoring from Type I diabetic uncle......
Lots of ingredients, but we need a recipe for what to use, how to use it, how much, how little, what sequence.....The experts out there seem to operate in chimneys, but it’s very difficult to find someone who can operate in the diabetic/therapy/addiction domain at the same time.
We would very much appreciate your thoughts.