The bigger problem is his mental health. The anxious attachment style he has with his dog is just a symptom. I've worked in mental health a long time and have my own relatives who suffer. I have spent a lifetime searching for solutions for my own loved ones. I'm no longer convinced one exists.
For a person's mental health to improve, they have to recognize there's a problem (most people can get this far), and be willing to do something about it. Not just say they want to do something about it, go to therapy for a few months, try a few drugs, and then give up. But consistently, daily, in many different ways, do something about it. Nutrition, exercise, therapy, medication with side effects. I can't make my patients and family members do these things when they don't want to. So we just have to love them through whatever coping mechanisms they've made for themselves, even if they're poor choices that will have a negative impact on their lives.
Nothing you can do but love, accept, and enforce boundaries to protect yourself and your future family.
People without friends is a bad sign, generally.
The bigger problem is his mental health. The anxious attachment style he has with his dog is just a symptom. I've worked in mental health a long time and have my own relatives who suffer. I have spent a lifetime searching for solutions for my own loved ones. I'm no longer convinced one exists.
For a person's mental health to improve, they have to recognize there's a problem (most people can get this far), and be willing to do something about it. Not just say they want to do something about it, go to therapy for a few months, try a few drugs, and then give up. But consistently, daily, in many different ways, do something about it. Nutrition, exercise, therapy, medication with side effects. I can't make my patients and family members do these things when they don't want to. So we just have to love them through whatever coping mechanisms they've made for themselves, even if they're poor choices that will have a negative impact on their lives.
Nothing you can do but love, accept, and enforce boundaries to protect yourself and your future family.