Overprotective parent of mature adult

A close friend of mine, a fifty-four year old man, resides 1500 miles away from his mother, aged eighty, who has, over the years, treated him as if he is still twelve. Her husband, my friend's father, died a year ago June and she has grown even more protective & controlling & won't allow him to live his life. She phones him many times over the course of a day and wants to know his whereabouts at all times to the extent that if she is unable to reach him when he is expected home, she gets ready to call the police. She was always needy & dependent and her husband took care of everything. She did not even know how to change a lightbulb. My friend thinks she's just afraid that if something happens to him, she will be left all alone. He's tried talking to her, to no avail. He's a good son and always goes to her when she is ill or needs help but he is at his wit's end. Tweet