How fast can your difficult child's moods change?

tammyjh

New Member
My difficult child is very Jekyll and Hyde with her moods. She was upset and crying last night over consequences given for extremely rude behavior and name calling to 6 yr. old easy child. As soon as I walked past her, she starts screaming ""FYOU B****!!!"" and started throwing punches at me. After I was out of reach, she starts the crying again.

We also have a lot of moments where she is very happy/giddy/hyper and then if someone speaks to her...usually husband or her sister, she'll stop whatever she's doing, glare at them and yell "WHAT?!?!" Usually she'll end up stomping off to her room or sometimes having to be escorted because the mood continues to escalate. Then, after a little while, I'll call her down and she acts like nothing happened. She remembers it when we ask but as she's over it, she expects us to be over it too. And we usually only get an apology if we ask.

We've been trying to identify triggers for years and incorporate coping skills and behavior plans. But as there is no predictable pattern, we're stumped and we just try to keep ourselves and our expectations as consistent as possible.
 
B

butterflydreams

Guest
You know, before difficult child went inpatient I would see mood swings like that too, but without the crying. I would see him lash out with "What!!" just for his sister or I to look at him sideways and be all irritable because he was called on the carpet for something and then a little while later be like nothing happened. Very frustrating. We were walking on eggshells all the time not wanting to set him off.

I hope you are able to find solutions. I know I haven't.

Christy
 

tammyjh

New Member
We haven't found anything to date either. We've had numerous crisis calls and 4 hospitalizations so far. 3 out of the 4 we've spent the time that she was there trying to convince them that she shouldn't be discharged back to home. In home supports told us last week that there's no way they would recommend any out of home placements for her as she's not considered dangerous enough. As they're only in the house about 4 hrs. a week and very rarely when she's home, they have only seen her mood become unstable once.
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
My difficult child can change moods with the blink of an eye. Honestly he can be mad/violent one moment, happy/giddy, the next, and then who knows what. Hugs as I know the constant mood changes are hard to deal with.
 

happymomof2

New Member
Hugs to all of you. I told someone yesterday I think my son is (I know this is spelled way wrong) scytsophrenic!

He can be in a great mood then all of a sudden wham - something or someone looks at him the wrong way or something he is trying to do doesn't work for him and he turns from happy to angry in the blink of an eye and sometimes doesn't go back to happy for a while.

This is my first teenager - are all teens like this or is it just our difficult child's?

On edit - I know and remember being a teen myself and I would have my moods buy I don't remember them changing that fast.
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
Mood changes faster than a speeding bullet, stubbornness more powerful than a locomotive, able to destroy a room in a single bound.....

It's Super-difficult child.

I wonder if they would wear the costume if we gave it to 'em.

:devil:


Yep. Mine gives me whiplash sometimes. Sometimes i just try to make myself invisible. You know, become one with the chair. It hasn't worked. If I could have a super power, that would be it: invisibility.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Ours could change moods multiple times within a day.
In The Bipolar Child, Dr. Papolos talks about with Bipolar Disorder, children can switch from a depressive state to a manic state very quickly...much more quickly than what is seen with adults.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
With my difficult child I see it happen very specifically. Just this weekend my boyfriend got to see it first hand. We can be laughing and joking one minute and then suddenly she got offended by something or thinks someone was being mean to her and that good mood is GONE.

There is never a basis, that I can understand, for her to feel slighted or offended in any way. But, it is real for her. She can never explain it - because she goes off into a rage first. I don't even ask anymore. When I see the change, I remove myself or disengage immediately.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Miss KT's mood changes sometimes make me dizzy. Too often, Hubby's existence sets her off...if he walks by, looks at her, asks her something...but since he's only the stepdad, she takes offense at pretty much anything and everything he does.
 

tammyjh

New Member
Mary,
My husband is stepdad too and she has a harder time with her moods in regard to him too. She is also that way with her sister...husband and K get the brunt of it. I'm next in line, followed by my 6 yr. old and she's started in with my 2 1/2 yr old. Last week she was happy and helping him play on one of the little hand held games and when he wanted it back, she threw it across the room and called him a little BA*****.:dissapointed: Oddly, when she first came home from her long hospital stay in mid Oct., she was sweet as could be to husband and daughter and I was the one she was most unpredictable with. Its all back to normal now.
 
Top