Does your child / teen have mental health issues? Are you interesting in a long running thread to provide mutual support?

[hmcAsWas]

DD (13) has only just started developing problems this year, although I suppose there might have been signs before. I feel a bit alone and out of my depth and would like to chat about it with parents who are experiencing similar. Perhaps we can pool support and advice if there is interest?

DD appears anxious and depressed. Low mood - wants to avoid school and her normal activities and just stay home and shut the world out. I don't know if this is how anxiety and depression usually manifests itself. She is joyless and flat at the moment.

Also has anybody seen a forum for parental support anywhere else on the internet?

Ds10 was diagnosed 2 years ago with adolescent bipolar disorder. He had been struggling with his feelings and behavior for 3 years and had been misdiagnosed with autism, ADHD, OCD...you name it. Once we had the correct diagnosis and medication it was such a relief. My husband was so against medication initially, luckily he's finally realized it's a not optional and it keeps his illness in check for the most part.
DS has good days and bad days. Friday he had no less than 3 meltdowns, one at his therapist and one so bad we had to leave the house "to get away from Dad" and drive around the supermarket parking lot to calm down . All over having an Easter egg hunt, which I said he could do whenever he wanted to weather permitting FFS!! Saturday and Sunday he was a perfect angel and brought us breakfast in bed this morning.

Hi Leopard my dd was obsessed with Eastenders a few years ago when Stacy had Bipolar. She became convinced she had it, she was only 10.

I sometimes do wonder but she does tend to fit the Aspergers diagnosis fairly well.

Dd is on Sertraline as well as the Respiridone, she's now on 200 mg but it doesn't seem to help her anxiety. She seems less depressed though. It's such a balancing act isn't it?

We've had 3 meltdowns today. I had to drop her at mum's for a couple of hours for the sake of my sanity!

Thornrose you nailed it! It is such a balancing act! Adolescent BP is completely different than adult BP. The symptoms are more like ADHD with rapid cycling, happy manic one minute angry manic the next. I don't believe it's diagnosed in the UK yet and it's usually only diagnosed in the US if there's family history of it. So maybe that will help your DD put her mind at rest?

Just reading back on your posts thornrose when she's calmer she knows it isn't true which is why the mental health team are reluctant to diagnose psychosis

That really resonates with me. My son is gripped with a fear or a paranoia that when calm he can reason his way out of.

My DS has been assessed in france where we live. The psychiatrists explanation was sensible but frustrating - she said some people on the autistic spectrum experience a type of anguish and have a sensitivity and mental health vulnerability that is rarely reported.
She couldn't say whether my son would recover or continue to be so anxious.

Me? I like facts, figures, formal diagnostic terms that I can research and understand. A diagnosis of anguish hasn't really explained it well enough for me. I know that people on the spectrum are more likely to experience mental health disorders and I'm learning that they often don't fit into a nice neat diagnostic catagory.

My son has melatonin every night, that we buy OTC. My DS's nights would be pretty awful without it. I understand that people with auto immune disorders shouldn't use melatonin so we are cautious with it as my DH and I both have inheritable autoimmune disorders.

Hmm, that's not good enough for me either! Can I give some examples of today, which has been horrendous.

We managed to get out to a cafe for lunch, that is the only incentive strong enough to get her outside. She then refused to go home because our upstairs neighbour is going to bully her and she's scared!

My sister is at work so we've gone there. So far we've had, cars are driving past and flashing lights at her. She's in the back bedroom upstairs and can't see the road.

A girl she hasn't seen for years and lives miles away is somehow outside bothering her.

Someone outside is banging, (this is apparently another girl from her past!) to annoy her and whispering bad things.

I'm very patiently getting her to explain exactly how these things could be really happening. "How can she see you if she's outside in a car?" " how to they know where you are and where your aunties house is?" She can't give an answer but then gets angry and says I'm not protecting her.

It's relentless, I want to run away. We're both off for 2 weeks, how will we get through this I don't know.

I mentioned to my GP that my DS does not have psychosis apparently but ideas of persecution and paranoia. He said that they were about as close to psychosis as it's possible to get. Mental health diagnoses are more art than science.

Thornrose it sounds relentlessly tough.

Had some time out with my son today...long walk in the 'downs'. Not sure if he enjoyed it as dosent express emotion. Made me feel happy though. He has moments of when he will smile or laugh inappropriately, does anyone know what this could be or why be does it?

He has moments of when he will smile or laugh inappropriately, does anyone know what this could be or why be does it

Perhaps because he has own thoughts on things and the thoughts and laughs aren't inappropriate except to those around him.

she said some people on the autistic spectrum experience a type of anguish and have a sensitivity and mental health vulnerability that is rarely reported

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

She couldn't say whether my son would recover or continue to be so anxious

After reading up extensively on the Amygdala I doubt my son will ever be less anxious.

noton I totally agree, my son has been incredibly anxious well, since he was born really. He's exhausted by it all and I don't expect him to ever be without anxiety.

I have noticed that with therapy his confidence has grown. He seems more accepting and at peace with the many SEN challenges he faces. I can see him processing the questions that any of us would have: why me? Why can he do it and I can't?

Jelly , that makes complete sense. I asked his Mental Health care nurse and she said he may be 'hearing voices'. I asked my son this and he said 'no'. He has heard voices when he was acutely psychotic but that has stopped.He became psychotic because of smoking weed and he did this to ease his acute anxiety and social problems that he has to deal with, he is very vulnerable and got caught up in it go be ' included' . He understands now how dangerous it is for him.

I just thought I'd give this thread a little bump. Hope everyone is coping ok!

I read "The reason I jump" the other day. People generally rave about it but I thought the answers were fairly self explanatory on the whole.

I'm not criticising the writer, he's obviously an inspirational your man. Maybe I've been around autism so long and read so much I'm a bit jaded?

Son has had a good week. Couple of days at The Princes Trust doing courses.
He will have the odd very restless night where he is up all night nearly, up and down the stairs.... Soon as he walks in room he turns around and and goes down again....do disturbing. Think respiridone is helping though.....