Terrorized

Have you ever been in a situation where you are terrified? I can think of a few off the top of my head, tornado warnings, car accidents, roller coasters... you get the idea.  Now, imagine being completely in love with someone and being terrified at the same time.

I'll tell you like I tell my son, D and his doctors. 98% of the time he is a charming, witty, polite, intelligent, helpful, well-mannered teenager. The other 2%, he is terrifying. His eyes turn black and they "ping" back and forth, he bows out his chest, raises his voice, and demolishes everything in his path. He shouts profanities, racial slurs, threatens to murder, and threatens suicide.

D has been in and out of acute and RTC (residential treatment centers) since he was 4 years old. We've been given every diagnosis from Asperger's to Bipolar to ODD/ADHD. He's been on enough medications to make anyone "crazy".

After an extreme meltdown last week, he was escorted to an acute unit by the local police department. He is scheduled to come home on Friday. Just like that, like an escalated "time-out" then he's sent back to terrorize and abuse the family again.

Here's what I need: I need a place to take D to detox off the multiple anti-psychotic and anti-depressants. I need him to have intensive psychotherapy (without medications) and a brain scan. I need to know WHY he is like this and I need to know HOW I can help him.

D* I will use this to term to protect my child's identity.

Deep Breathes- Here Goes EVERYTHING

I've made excuses and isolated our family for far too long. It's time to share what we have lived with for 15 years. It's time our family reaches out to other families who hide in shame and fear because their child has a mental illness. It's time to SPEAK OUT and get these children the help they deserve. I'll try to keep my posts short and I'm open to answering any questions anyone may have. Please remember to keep your comments clean and tactful as this is focused on children. No matter what they may have done or been through, they are still children. Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him