James Donaldson on Mental Health - My anxious son is 16, home-schooled, and prefers ‘cyber friends’ to real ones. We want him back in school, but can he cope?

Writer: Stephanie Dowd, PsyD Clinical Expert: Stephanie Dowd, PsyD Question My son is 16 and has been suffering from anxiety for the past 3 years.

It started with physical symptoms, like stomachaches and shortness of breath, often when he attended church mass.

We ended up homeschooling him, and now he hardly wants to go out.

He plays more and more online games with kids from around the world.

He talks with them regularly and always laughs and sounds so happy, which makes us happy, but we know it can't go on indefinitely.

We want to put him back in school but know that he won't be able to cope.

Now our son does not even seem to like his real-life friends and prefers his "cyber friends." We've seen a number of psychiatrists, but our son said they were too judgmental.

Please help us; we only want the best for our son.

His older siblings are all moved out already, so he is becoming an only child.

Answer First off, it is clear that you are concerned about your son and that you are invested in his well-being, and I applaud you for reaching out and asking for help.