"6. Do not seek professional help - you are normal for your age."
But people throw years of their lives away thinking this when, in fact, they have a real problem. Seeking consultation from a professional is the low-risk, potentially high reward choice.
Age 30, sure. Age 21, when you are still figuring out who the real you is... not sure that helps or hurts.
At his age he'd be better off reading some good non-tech books... Catcher in the Rye, Siddhartha, Fountainhead, a Taoism book... maybe a Philip K. Dick book or Vonnegut for some fun.
Maybe it's just me but I haven't run across too many mental health professionals that really seemed to know what they were doing. It's like chiropractors - there are a lot of them that are doing more harm than good it seems.
But people throw years of their lives away thinking this when, in fact, they have a real problem. Seeking consultation from a professional is the low-risk, potentially high reward choice.