My dd is 16. She is not spoiled, but has a privileged life. She is highly motivated and an academic high achiever. She comes across as mature, with a great sense of humour.
But she swings between normal and tearful indifference at home, with the latter being her default setting. She has said she feels miserable a lot of the time at home and at school and is seeing a counsellor once a week. She says it’s hard for her friends seeing her so miserable.
I don’t want to belittle or misunderstand her unhappiness but it often comes across as rudeness and ingratitude. For example, she has spent the odd day with me at work (fabulous experience in a field she wants to work in, my employers pay her and think she’s wonderful, there’s a well stocked kitchen etc etc). The last time she came she was not working quite as diligently as normal, and when we left I asked her what was wrong. She said “it was disgustingly boring”. Last night I collected her from her dad’s (after a very long working week for me) and every attempt at conversation was met with a shrug or a dunno, even the topic of what we should have for dinner. We eventually fell into silence, with her sniffing occasionally, with her head turned away from
me.
She has a good relationship with me and her dad. He and I have a good relationship despite being divorced. We try and talk but she isn’t very forthcoming. Does she need to see a doctor? Or will she just grow up?