An uninspired Sim

[MaryH]

This is not a technical problem, just a minor irritation at best: one of my sims, John Burb (one of the originals in Pleasantview) is extremely unmotivated or uninspired to do anything. Backstory-he's lost his wife due to a ghost, he's seen a neighbor die from the ghosts scaring her to death...it's like he's deeply depressed and in a deep funk. He didn't used to be like this before these happenings, and now he's just so pathetic.
My question is: is there any way to re-inspire him to get going? I've changed his aspirations, his housing, his career, and still he just acts like a lump of dirt...I've used every known mod and cheat to get something going, but he's so inert! I've thought about killing him off, but he still has Lucy to raise, and because she's still getting over the death of her mother, she's pretty tramautized as well, but getting over it.
I guess he's going to have to meet new women or something, because he's on the short list for a suicide pretty soon if that doesn't work!
Anyone else have this problem with their characters? If so, how did you get them re-animated to life?

[MissDoh]

it's been how long since his wife died?

I know they will weep for a few days and then get back to normal.

[summer_wine]

oh how i wish you can give sims a happy pill and everything would be fine...

have you tried getting him together with another lady?

[MaryH]

Oh, I'd say it's been about two weeks, in Sim time-but I haven't given him a lady to introduce to-perhaps I ought to make one for him...he doesn't grieve over it, because I removed him and his daughter from the lot-it was killing people, and in their state, I couldn't see that happening to them in the wake of the disasters.
It was bad enough when his wife died, and then the neighbor! I'd be knocked for a loop too, watching that happen. The Goth Mansion is just so terrible for life expectancy!
I will see if one of my other single lady sims is interested enough to talk to him-she's not actively involved with anyone right now.

[MaryH]

Just to update: I went back into the lot, and did a check of the lot's free will status from the game options..wouldn't you know it, but it was set to "off"! No wonder nobody moved without my say-so. Stupid me!
I'd gotten so used to the setting being "on" that I forgot to check that.
Everyone's back to normal, driving me crazy. Thanks for the help.

[MissDoh]

Glad it was as simple as that and all is fix now.