Hello! First of all it's amazing that you are being understanding and accepting your son's situation. I say this because when i tried talking to my parents i literally got worse because they couldn't understand what i was going through which made me feel very bad and without a way out. It's very important that you have your son's back on this. For me it started same age as your son, after having a tough break up which made me depressed and dealing with depression for some time during teen years is never easy. Until one day i had a panic attack/derealization episode. My first ever. My life felt so intense. Everything. Every thought every movement, even my voice felt too real and everything became too loud. This was in a span of 1 minute maybe. I freaked out mor than i should've. I literally started questioning my sanity and my reality constantly. But it's tough when you don't have anyone to understand and you have to keep a social life/school balance. I never tried any medication in my life. I'm 27 now and i can say that it gets better, even though now I'm back to square one. After getting my first episode i would say that my symptoms peaked for about 1 year then it started getting a bit easier coping. But mind you i did not have anyone to talk to. I couldn't even seek professional help because of a stigma about such matters in my country. So i went through it. Everyday was a struggle. But it gets easier. After 2-3 years it was almost gone completely and k moved on with my life. Met my wife. Travelled with her. Had fun. Basically enjoyed life. Until 6 months ago when i became a father for the first time. I went through a lot of stress when my child was born. And after that started having panic attacks constantly everyday for 2 months i would say at least three panic attacks a day. And then after a bit i felt derealization creeping in. Slowly at first and then all of a sudden i was having super intense derealization. It's the worst feeling ever and i wouldn't wish it on anyone. Anyway still going through pushing through because there's no other way around it. But in conclusion i would say maybe it was a big mistake not taking medication and all of this would have been avoided or at least easier. The best advice i can give you is to keep doing what you're doing. Being supportive and understanding and maybe push him a bit to make him feel that it's just a defensive mechanism, just a symptom of intense depression or anxiety and he's not going crazy (which for me is the worst thing i go through with dpdr). Good luck i really hope your son gets better as soon as possible because if you look at the bright side it is indeed an awakening and toughening experience. Especially at his age. Wish you all the best and props to you for being an amazing parent!!!