He decided two years ago that all of life is heading towards death, that existence on earth is pretty meaningless, and so why bother? It's difficult to get him to read--books that were on his reading capability level bored him in terms of the topics and treatment of the topic. This year his reading level is up to adult level, and so he's beginning to read adult books which interest him more, but it's still very hard to find something that interests him.
In addition to being gifted, he's also "HSP"--a highly sensitive person. So much so that he prefers to be alone or with only one friend. Most of the kids his age bore him, so I'm having a hard time getting him to socialize with other kids. In Thailand, he and his sister have been very alone, so he's used to being withdrawn.
I completely agree about getting counseling for him. It may be overkill and it may not be necessary. But I have known a few HG teens who were struggling with the meaning of the existence, their parents chalked it up to typical teen angst and then the kids attempted suicide. I would definitely take the better safe than sorry approach. I would also choose a counselor very carefully--a gifted teen can smell condescension and pat answers a mile away. They need someone who can truly appreciate the despair they are feeling and take it seriously; if that counselor doesn't do this, then this will just prove to them that they are alone and adults can't be trusted.
You may want to consider looking at some of the existential philosophers who struggle with these same issues. I really liked a book called Irrational Man when I was struggling with the same stuff in college. Some of this stuff is pretty heavy though and it might backfire. So I probably wouldn't want to go there until he's in counseling.
Since you are missionaries, I wondered how faith fits into all this for him. Do you think he has a secure Christian faith that is supporting him through this or is he questioning some of what he has been taught? Because of who you are and what you do, is he finding this as a way of rebelling against his parents?
I was curious about why your kids have been very alone. I have friends who have spent a lot of time in Thailand and the kids have a lot of friends, both expats and Thai. I think they have gone to an international shcool so that has introduced them to a lot of people. I have heard that having even one or two good friends is very helpful to teens and significantly reduced the chances of a major psychologic event, so finding a way for him to make friends when you get back to Thailand seems really important.
These are just some ideas. Obviously, you have been doing the best you can for your kids under challenging circumstances. I wondered too if there have been other missionaries that have experienced a similar problem.
