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Mom
08-16-2014, 06:11 PM
Hi All - Thank you for having me.
Though I have a the mind set to at least try and make it short - no promises here….
AS I am sitting here my daughter (20) is texting me from College. She moved in yesterday. But let me try to make a little more sense of this all. It started one summer when she was about 14. From one summer living at the Lake where she would not get enough of swimming and fun with her one year younger sister to the next summer where she did not evens ant to clean up dod poop in the yard. I shoved it aside since she grew in all the right places, the boys started noticing here more and she was a bit self conscious I thought. Over the next 3 years she had one illness after the other, from numb left side if body to dizziness, to fainting (2x) to feeling lightheaded, heart racing, headaches, tummy aches, - you name it, she had it - we went from cardiology to neurology, to CAT scans. Her grades were never thrilling though she is smart AND beautiful she feels like a looser and ugly. It ended in her crying hysterically every morning before school, IF she went, she called latest by noon to be picked up from the nurses office. usually she only went for 10 minutes before calling me. every day the same scenario. As I type here we have exchanged at least 20 texts about her wanting to give up, to come home, feeling trapped…. She was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia a few years back but she does not live by it. This is a form of diabetes, just reversed, it is low blood sugar. Symptoms are i.e. ANXIETY. Her doctor one day when it was really bad with her anxiety he looked at her and since no Doc ever found anything worn with her he said… you know, she is displaying all signs of anxiety and depression, she has the right age…. So we put her finally on Lexapro, something I have refused for a long time thinking she would grow out of it. This is one thing I learned, anxiety is a disease you can not see and therefor many do not acknowledge the issue. So after years of talking (or more: not talking) to Psychotherapist and running from one doc to the other and skipping school for 6 months in a row my daughter decided to try a small school, we enrolled her into a Catholic Private School and let her redo 9th grade.
She actually graduated (barely) and had been home now for over a year. Our recent move from MI to SC brought up the issue - what to do, she decided to go with us (Mom and Dad are divorced and remarried for 14 years) and I told her she has 6 months to end a job and enroll in school (I am not a hear headed b*) I want her to succeed in life, she is a great kid with a disease that she wants to go away overnight. She hates the pills, the fears, the everything, she wants to be normal, she wants a boyfriend - yup, never been kissed - there is sooooo much out there for her and I am desperate for any help, tips, anything. Maybe even a pempal would be great for her, to know she is not alone but that it can be dealt with. She does not believe in breathing therapy, she does not want to adjust or learn to cope and deal with it, she wants the magic wand and it to be gone. I worry…… HELP PLEASE

JohnC
08-17-2014, 07:24 AM
Hi mom. Sorry to hear about your daughter and the struggles she is having. I am no expert but have suffered from anxiety and depression for over 30 years. Just a couple of questions/curiosities. Do you think that your divorce has anything to do with what she is going through or maybe triggered the anxiety? My fourteen year old has mild CP and also suffers from anxiety that she got from me. The move may have also added to the anxiety, IDK. Health anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder is something that is tough and needs managed. I worry about my daughter's and my other two kids ALL the time. Alot of folks on this forum really believe in the help they get from cognitive behavior therapy but i have not done that myself. There was a period of my daughters life that i literally had to carry my daughter into school kicking and crying all the way. I don't know if it was because of the way she walked or was self conscious about not walking the way every one else does BUT the main thing is she got over it and is excelling at school ( she still suffers from anxiety ). If you can afford it seek out different help for her and maybe even itroduce her to the forum. It helps sometimes to see that you are not alone and she can tell her feelings and find others who have the same. Peace to you and good luck. ( kids are tough :) )

annakatarinas
08-18-2014, 09:17 AM
Hey,

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter.
I am a 19 year old girl/woman/ and I struggle with a disability as well, which causes a lot of anxiety for me. If you ever want to talk to someone who's kind of in the same situation as she is, don't hesitate to PM.

Best wishes

Anna Katarina