startingfresh
Active Member
Rn, thank you for asking about my son ! I figured I should start my own thread because of course its a long one!! Last time I updated he had admitted himself into the hospital for mental health help. When he made this decision, he was renting a room from someone and quickly running out of money. He had an excellent job for a year prior to June and had made a lot of progress. However, he still smoked weed and as time went by became more and more unhappy with his situation. He abruptly quit the job in June and got caught by police with marijuana. He then spent his last chunk of money for a lawyer and has a court date hanging over his head. That led him to stop smoking weed(his self medication of choice) Without that he looked elsewhere for relief and took some pills then wrecked his car, had at least 2 episodes of drinking way too much and making stupid mistakes. These are the things I know.
Its possible he hit an all time low and felt like he had no way out and checked himself into local mental health hospital. They started him on new medication (aimed to treat his up and down moods) and he asked if he could come home and live with us. Prior to this, My husband and I have had to put huge distance between him and allow him to be on his own and face his own consequences because of the chaos he caused at home. He refused to follow our rules and was high all the time. That lasted about 8 months. Once he was in the hospital for suicidal ideation, I had to go with my gut and I showed up during visiting hours and asked if he wanted visitors. He agreed to see us and we reiterated that we loved him, that we were there for him, that we would do whatever we could to get him the help he needs. That we would find a way to find the best placement for him, not this bare room where he was just being watched to stay safe. No therapy, no conferring with his doctor/therapist he normally sees. At first, he tried to act all tough but then by day 2 he was waiting by the door at the beginning of visitor hours. He seemed to realize he had successfully pushed every single person in his life away and was only getting more and more depressed. He was finally discharged and unfortunately, with that awful experience he said he will never willingly check himself in anywhere.
He is now back home living with us and is doing very well. He is on 2 new medications and has stopped all of his vices. He exercises daily and so far has willingly taken himself (borrowing my car) to weekly therapy and pysch. appts. He is taking a class online. I have not seen the light on in him like this in a very long time. We laugh together as a family and have dinner together and spend so much time together, I just can't believe it. I am very aware that things can change in a heartbeat and try to push those feelings down so I can enjoy this time. I think the new medication is the key piece here. Our goal right now is to keep him going to see his doctors and let the medications settle in. Then figure out what next. I can't seem to post here often, but i read when I can and am so thankful for all the support.
Its possible he hit an all time low and felt like he had no way out and checked himself into local mental health hospital. They started him on new medication (aimed to treat his up and down moods) and he asked if he could come home and live with us. Prior to this, My husband and I have had to put huge distance between him and allow him to be on his own and face his own consequences because of the chaos he caused at home. He refused to follow our rules and was high all the time. That lasted about 8 months. Once he was in the hospital for suicidal ideation, I had to go with my gut and I showed up during visiting hours and asked if he wanted visitors. He agreed to see us and we reiterated that we loved him, that we were there for him, that we would do whatever we could to get him the help he needs. That we would find a way to find the best placement for him, not this bare room where he was just being watched to stay safe. No therapy, no conferring with his doctor/therapist he normally sees. At first, he tried to act all tough but then by day 2 he was waiting by the door at the beginning of visitor hours. He seemed to realize he had successfully pushed every single person in his life away and was only getting more and more depressed. He was finally discharged and unfortunately, with that awful experience he said he will never willingly check himself in anywhere.
He is now back home living with us and is doing very well. He is on 2 new medications and has stopped all of his vices. He exercises daily and so far has willingly taken himself (borrowing my car) to weekly therapy and pysch. appts. He is taking a class online. I have not seen the light on in him like this in a very long time. We laugh together as a family and have dinner together and spend so much time together, I just can't believe it. I am very aware that things can change in a heartbeat and try to push those feelings down so I can enjoy this time. I think the new medication is the key piece here. Our goal right now is to keep him going to see his doctors and let the medications settle in. Then figure out what next. I can't seem to post here often, but i read when I can and am so thankful for all the support.