Posted by papillon2 on March 1, 2012, at 20:36:39
In reply to Re: Moon sent home from school today - sigh.., posted by Solstice on March 1, 2012, at 18:28:57
> I just don't know what to do to help her. I'm thinking about keeping her out of school through spring break.. but if we don't figure out a way to address the academics, she'll be right back where she started.
>
> Anyway.. what to you all know about anxiety?
>
> SolsticeI'm sorry to hear that things have taken a turn for the worse. :-(
The difficulty with taking her out of school, is the need to balance the stress of going to school and not coping/learning well, with the stress about not going to school and falling even further behind. This is significant because your daughter places a premium on her education and academic abilities, so either way her self esteem and confidence is likely to take a battering.
I speak from personal experience, having only done half of my final year at school, with the other half spent in hospital. Thankfully I had completed enough of the school year for my teachers to alter the weightings of assessments, so a test counting for say 25% of my total marks was changed to 40%. Perhaps this would be an option for Moon if her previous marks have been good enough?
Another idea is homeschooling. Moon could get her work from her current school, do it in her own time rather than having to stick with the school timetable, and send it back for marking. Perhaps she could get a tutor to help where needed.
To me, the cognitive slowing smacks of depression and/or a response to medication. But you're right, anxiety can also cause one to shut down. So what do I know about anxiety? Well, when you first posted about Moon's outbursts and irrational arguments, the first thing I thought about was that she might be incredibly anxious. Anxiety is at the root of a lot of anger even for people without a mental illness.
I personally become angry when my level of anxiety is ridiculously high and something happens that pushes me over the edge. I know others who do the same. Sometimes I will insist upon a particular thing being correct or incorrect, when I know it really isn't. I'll continue with my argument because the truth is too scary for me to openly acknowledge. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case for Moon, but it's a possibility.
Then there is displaced anger: Moon may be angry/anxious at one thing, but show anger towards another. And she has a lot about which to be rightfully angry in my opinion, her illness and its treatment for starters. But anyway, I have gone completely off topic...
I wish you all the best with tomorrow's appointment. If the removal of Lithium was partly to blame, Moon might be able to tolerate Lithium at a lower dose without any adverse effects. Side effects with Lithium are largely dose dependent. It would have to be combined with other medication, however.
Ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
~ Leonard Cohen
poster:papillon2
thread:1012142
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120221/msgs/1012157.html