Raising a child has never been a cakewalk and the adolescent years can definitely try your patience. Personally the most difficult thing I've ever had to encounter is parenting a teen facing mental illness.Since her birth in 1998 I have assisted my mother with co-parenting my younger sister, "AJ".
Even as a little kid my sister's behaviors have always been a little "out there" with her extended temper tantrums and/or outbursts towards the family. My mom and I didn't realize what we had on our hands until she started acting out violently against her classmates in school. Her teachers suggested she had ADD/ADHD based on her disconnect while in the classroom but I wasn't too sure given the behaviors I had witnessed in the home. In 2009 after much prodding on my end the school district and her pediatrician finally conducted a series of evaluations which resulted in her being diagnosed with mood disorders. In less than a year that diagnosis was changed to bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and then to bipolar schizophrenia, PTSD and depression in 2011.
I am not sure whether having a "label" attached to her helped or hindered us. Over the years I've worked with hundred of kids and have come across many different diagnosis and behaviors but nothing quite prepares you for when it is your child. No matter how hands-on you are in your professional field nothing prepares you for your flesh and blood screaming obscenities at you, launching lamps and other items at your head, and/or charging at you full force.
We have plenty of days when we can manage peacefully, but there's a greater amount of days when we can't tell which way is up. There are so many moments when my mother and I feel completely alone as no one else in the family truly understands my sister's illness or, quite frankly, don't care to be bothered. I'm not sure where this journey will lead us but I am not ashamed to admit that I am seriously afraid and in need of some support.
TSJ
Guest blogger TSJ is a STRONG woman. She is a mother figure for her own sister and a great source of support to her mother. An editor, literary analyst and self proclaimed bibliophile, are among many victories she has achieved thus far.
