Voicemail

How can I help out my little cousin who is extremely depressed and is making wrong decisions?

I'm probably going to need a lot of help and suggestions on what should I do to help out my little cousin who is extremely depressed. My cousin is a 19 year old teenage guy who recently graduated from high school and is currently not in college and he is delaying college further and further which isn't good. He suffers in the past with Bi - Polar disorder with mood swings which constantly changes often. He recently developed having migraine headaches. I've talked to his parents which is my aunt and uncle last night and they said they are extremely tired of him, he is constantly talking and asking his parents to get him the arranged marriage thing sooner. His parents told him that they can't do that currently until he finishes his college degree, If they are going to Vietnam next year it is just for visiting relatives. He starts throwing a fit and drove my aunt and uncle crazy. My uncle logged onto my cousin's laptop and looked into his browser internet history and founded that he constantly asks questions here on answers, his computer's hard drive is also filled with bunch of pictures of Vietnamese Girls. He also wrote in a Microsoft Word document saying that he is depressed because all of his cousins and friends are either married or have a girlfriend and he is the biggest loser on the earth. He also stated that he now wants to become a girl. My aunt founded out that he has a bookbag full of 3 pairs of girls shoes of very high heels, like 6 inch stiletto heels and a pair of mini skirts and a blouse and a wig. My aunt says he also took my aunts lip stick and eye liner. I couldn't speak to him because whenever I call his cell phone he either let it go to voicemail or just pick it up and hangup immediately. Is there anything I could do to help out my little cousin ?? I need to help my little cousin out because he is doing very bad things.

Public Comments

1. Steven – I believe that I have encountered your cousin a few times on YA. In fact, I may have recently confronted him about his trolling activities. If he is who I think he is, then my intuition was correct that there is something wrong with him. What may surprise you (and him) is I can help. My father is bipolar, and I have lived with his disease all of my life. What you’re describing sounds crazy but it is common behavior for a bipolar who is not taking their medication or is an undiagnosed bipolar. It is VERY difficult to live with a bipolar. It appears that you and his parents are already experiencing that. What’s going to suck for him is he will likely have relationship problems for his entire life until he learns to control his behavior. If he does not, then he will make himself and everyone around him miserable. Believe it or not, your cousin may have something in his favor. Most bipolar are very smart. His issue with school is probably not because he’s not smart enough, but rather that he is easily bored without constantly being mentally challenged. He needs to use his brain to overcome his disease. It’s going to be a huge challenge for your cousin and his family to understand and then contend with his disease. The first thing is your cousin has to understand is he is bipolar and he needs help. He needs to see his psychiatrist regularly and he needs to take his meds. Once he becomes more normal, then he needs to work on self discipline and self control. Your cousin can lead a normal and productive life, but he needs to remember that he’s bipolar and conduct himself accordingly. I know it’s tough, but don’t give up on him yet. Get him the help he needs. Good luck to you and your family.