Concerned Father Believes His Son, 23, Hasn't Left His Apartment in Over a Year

Yahoo

3 hours ago

A father on Reddit is worried about his son, who he thinks has not left his apartment in a year
The dad visited his son to check in on him, though his son refused to go outside and talk with him
The poster is considering calling another wellness check on his son out of concern over his isolating behaviorA father on Reddit has grown increasingly worried about his son, who he believes hasn't left his apartment in a year.
On Reddit's r/AmIOverreacting forum, the 47-year-old father writes that he hasn't seen his son in a year, with their last in-person interaction taking place at his graduation. Though he's extended invites to family holiday gatherings, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, his son has declined the invites or not responded at all.
"I started getting really worried after Easter, mid April," the dad writes, noting that he called for a wellness check soon after.
"They said that he 'seemed fine.' I tried to go out there to talk to him, and he would not open the door," the dad continues. "He only talked to me through the crack of the door. Hearing his voice actually calmed me a bit. But even then he just told me that he couldn't go outside to talk to me."
The father notes that he and his son "used to be pretty close," but now feels like his son is trying to "cut [him] off" without explicitly saying so.
He and his wife last heard from the 23-year-old on Mother's Day, when the college graduate reached out with a "simple text."
"We tried to get him to engage in a conversation. We asked if he'd be coming for dinner. No response," the dad writes.
"Now it's been over a year since we think he last left the house," he continues, admitting that "this might be where I'm starting to overreact."
The Redditor also asked some of his son's longtime friends "if they've been out with him in the past year," but they told him "they haven't even been able to reach him."
"This was a pattern across the friends I asked," the dad writes. "One even said he told her to flat out stop calling."
The Reddit user's wife insists that their son may just be busy trying to find a job, prompting his distance, though he's hesitant to believe that's the only factor in their son's sudden reclusive behavior.
"I understand that online interviews exist but I cannot grasp the idea that he is looking for a job," the father continues. "If he didn't go outside to talk to me then it's not likely that he would leave to go to a job interview."
The worried father also notes that he and his wife have been paying for their son's apartment. In replies to the comments on the post, he explains that their original intention was to "cut him off" after he graduated, though their concern has stopped them from pulling the plug financially.
"He has no sense of urgency as my wife and I have been paying for the apartment since he started college so we could make sure he was safe and didn't have debts," he continues.
"Before this, my son was very extroverted and active. I don't think we ever spent the majority of a day inside when he was growing up."
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