14 high achiever keeps overdosing

[Ruralbliss]

I've got no idea what I gain from positing on here but some thoughts on what I might do to help

My previously happy well balanced level headed youngest DD has been taken by ambulance for the second time in 6 weeks to A&E due to a paracetamol/ibrupropen overdose late at night when everyone is asleep.

She has been cutting her arms and eating has become disordered/minimal.
She cut her hair short, wears very blokey clothes and talks a lot about various boys in the year above despite their school being an all girls school.

She is very high achiever academically. Incredibly hard working and bright.

I suspect undiagnosed autism but only started noticing things recently.

We've just relocated to be walking distance from her school and friends as before we were in the car 1.5 hours a day.

Her dad got binned off four years ago after many years of intolerable behaviour towards her older brother (autistic) and an OW.

She won't say why she took the overdose so all I can figure is she is suffering from awful mental health feels crap.

I'll fix her up with a counsellor. She trialled one last time but then she was away for 6 weeks.

Make sure the school knows. They can put in protections during the school day x

I'm so sorry you and your DD are going through this .
I know there is an explosion of SH behaviour in teens atm , my DD being one of them .

She sounds v distressed about something . You mention your ex behaviour towards another sibling , was your DD witness to this . She would have been aware despite efforts to protect her .

Have u made an appointment with your GP for her ? They are the gate holders to services and can offer support . My DD was seen weekly by GP until counselling became available. Make a separate appointment for yourself so you can give all details and support for yourself if necessary

Also let school know , there should be a safeguarding teacher who can ensure your DD is safe and supported in school .

You mentioned boys at an all girls school is this not reality ?

Has a mental health assessment been done in hospital ? My DD was assessed and seen by crisis team when taken on first visit to hospital after OD . This should have been done .

Hope this helps

Sorry forgot to say you mentioned your ex behaviour towards another sibling with ASD . Could this be trigger to some trauma , even if she didn't see anything she would have been aware .

My DD is also very bright academically and her teachers are v positive about her . No behaviour issues in school .

She experienced 1 trauma event aged 8 which appears to have triggered her in puberty so it's possible for their to be a delay

All the best

When she is mentioning boys in an all girls school is this completely untrue or are these 'boys' actually girls who identify as boy? Is this causing her issues? Wht does she mention about these boys is she threatened by them or does she feel she wants to be like them?

Is she entering burnout?

I would be asking if the school pressure and expectations she is carrying is too much for her.
Is she finding certain aspects of school work harder and trying to use memorisation of huge tracts of info to compensate? The reason I am asking is because it's common for 'very bright' autistics to be superb at memorising and regurgitating info. However the curriculum esp as GCSE kicks in requires much more interpretation, perspective taking, sorting of info etc which require different (typically NT) thinking styles. This can cause major cognitive dissonance/ stress. I have come across autistic girls trying to learn by heart worked examples of every possible pair of poetry combinations in the poetry unit of English lit, for example. She sounds like maybe her view of her worth is too tied up in her expectations of herself academically. Try to make it very very clear that this is not her worth to you?

I would be looking to take the pressure off. Reduce the number of GCSEs. Tell her about thinking styles and neurodiversity and how it's not unlikely she's ND given her brother is, and how would she feel about finding out about it?

Thanks so much all and yes yes yes to all of these things - witnessing her dad strangle her brother aged 10, identifying as a boy, trying to attain 100% in 11 GCSE subjects all of it.

She will be going back to the therapist she had one session with who was then away and we relocated on Friday, the safeguarding teacher she speaks with each Monday will be updated. I will also try to find a family therapist for all three of us and visit GP regarding anorexia and autism...