Need help for son

[cocoa76]

Hi! My son is 16 years old and started about the age of 11 to shows signs of depression. He was such a happy kid prior to that. He loved sports and was always joking and laughing. In middle school, he became withdrawn and angry all the time. He spent all of his time in his room and stopped wanting to do anything other than be alone. He has been seeing therapist off and on since then and was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. But I think it is more than depression and have been looking at BPD and it sounds so much like him. He is very moody and some days I have to stay away from him because everything makes him angry. He has trouble sleeping at night and sometimes will sleep all day. I am constantly telling him that he is handsome and loved and we will always be here to help him but he doesn't think this is true. He uses alcohol to help him feel better. He will sneak my husbands beer or liquor during the night. We even had an episode where he drank alcohol and physically attacked his dad. We had to call for help and he was taken to a mental facility. His anger is very intense sometimes and this really scares me. If we try and talk with him especially about grades or anything he does not want to talk about, he can become very aggressive and breaks things or hits himself sometimes. I feel like I am always walking on eggshells. I also have a 9 year old son with Autism. He also has tantrums sometimes and the attention that he has received over the years is also a problem. My 16 yo son thinks that we don't love him as much. He continues to see a therapist and some of the things have helped. He has started playing music and trying to have better sleep habits. When he is rested, he is a totally different person and acts so much better. He says sometimes he just can't sleep at night, that his brain is always going. He also has made more friends and is much more outgoing than he was a few years ago. He has tried Prozac and Lexapro but he said they did not help. I just want him to be happy and healthy. I saw this group and thought I could use some guidance and advice on what I should do. Is there any medication or therapy that has helped someone you know?

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[Swimmy55]

Welcome !
Your son is in therapy and that is being on the right track.  In my experience, my son at that age had different diagnoses .  Part of the reason is the teen aged brain changes and hormones .  So the diagnosis started out as OCD and major depressive disorder at the age of 12 and then by age 15 it changed again to other diagnoses including bipolar with BPD traits,etc.  Meds were trial and error with getting correct meds along with correct dosages, etc.

It will be a long road and it may take a while for the docs to get to the bottom of things.  Make sure you build up your own support as well during this journey with your child.