MissJuneBug
South of the Mason-Dixon Line
Hi! I've been lurking for several months. Definitely feel like I belong here. The stories are so relatable.
My story is difficult child Son was an honors College Student with a 4.0 GPA. Downward spiral started after a bad breakup with-girlfriend May 2013. Started struggling with some upper division science courses Fall 2013. Then began misusing prescription rx for sleep, alcohol, weed. Was living about 1.5 hrs away. We were unaware until some of his grades started dropping. Thought it was due to rigorous curriculum. Then began failing all classes. After a few semesters of this, we forceably moved him back home. He continued with school by commuting. Did well in some classes, still failed some science classes needed to complete degree. Refused to get tutoring for those classes. Has failed a set of three classes at least three times! Basically, he starts the semester doing well then as it gets harder, he stops going to those classes. His GPA has fallen to 2.5ish. He has always pushed himself and showed a lot of discipline in the last year, leaving the house every morning at 6am and returning at 9pm M-F, driving 1.5 hrs both ways.
As of Jan 2017, we stopped paying for school after almost seven years full-time! He was doing a double major and is currently 1 credit hour away from a foreign language degree but refuses to graduate without the science degree.
Currently refuses to do anything. Rarely leaves his bedroom, sometimes even his bed. Won't shower. Therapist says major depression. Trying to convince him to go to IOP. Refuses to work despite job offers. Won't talk to us. Won't answer his cell phone. Won't even call back his beloved grandmother. Lies constantly. When he does leave the house, he goes and sits in his car in grocery store parking lots for hours at a time. We are able to track him. Husband, who is a Type A workaholic, is beside himself with anger! Wants to kick him out.
Despite his IQ, he is very emotionally immature and has very bad coping skills. Besides substance abuse, he is showing signs of having an avoidance personality disorder. He procrastinates on literally everything. He's quiet and introverted but went to a small private school k-12 and has lots of close friends, though he stopped keeping in touch with them recently. Seems to only be talkative and social when he's buzzed. He also has an online chat group of young adults around the world. He is literally glued to that phone. It's like these virtual friends are his best friends now.
I never imagined we would be on this wild rollercoaster! Although he has always showed signs of anxiety from the time he was a baby, he did well in school, no major behavioral problems other than ADHD related issues. The Narcolepsy issue doesn't help. He doesn't randomly fall asleep but he doesn't get good quality sleep and is therefore tired a lot. He gets a fair of amount of stimulants from his psychiatrist but nothing unusual for a patient with confirmed Narcolepsy.
After an episode this week where he sat in his car all night in the driveway and I found him out there at 6:00am with a pipe in the car and an obvious buzz, we have told him IOP is non-negotiable. His substance abuse counselor and his Pyschiatrist who specializes in addiction medicine and is the medical director for a local IP rehab program don't think he has a true addiction - though he is 'on the addiction spectrum'. His therapist says the same thing. They all believe he is trying to self-medicate for the anxiety. He seems to be able to stop whe he wants.
On the other hand, son is extremely smart and knows all the right things to say. So who knows?
Just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks for being here!
June
My story is difficult child Son was an honors College Student with a 4.0 GPA. Downward spiral started after a bad breakup with-girlfriend May 2013. Started struggling with some upper division science courses Fall 2013. Then began misusing prescription rx for sleep, alcohol, weed. Was living about 1.5 hrs away. We were unaware until some of his grades started dropping. Thought it was due to rigorous curriculum. Then began failing all classes. After a few semesters of this, we forceably moved him back home. He continued with school by commuting. Did well in some classes, still failed some science classes needed to complete degree. Refused to get tutoring for those classes. Has failed a set of three classes at least three times! Basically, he starts the semester doing well then as it gets harder, he stops going to those classes. His GPA has fallen to 2.5ish. He has always pushed himself and showed a lot of discipline in the last year, leaving the house every morning at 6am and returning at 9pm M-F, driving 1.5 hrs both ways.
As of Jan 2017, we stopped paying for school after almost seven years full-time! He was doing a double major and is currently 1 credit hour away from a foreign language degree but refuses to graduate without the science degree.
Currently refuses to do anything. Rarely leaves his bedroom, sometimes even his bed. Won't shower. Therapist says major depression. Trying to convince him to go to IOP. Refuses to work despite job offers. Won't talk to us. Won't answer his cell phone. Won't even call back his beloved grandmother. Lies constantly. When he does leave the house, he goes and sits in his car in grocery store parking lots for hours at a time. We are able to track him. Husband, who is a Type A workaholic, is beside himself with anger! Wants to kick him out.
Despite his IQ, he is very emotionally immature and has very bad coping skills. Besides substance abuse, he is showing signs of having an avoidance personality disorder. He procrastinates on literally everything. He's quiet and introverted but went to a small private school k-12 and has lots of close friends, though he stopped keeping in touch with them recently. Seems to only be talkative and social when he's buzzed. He also has an online chat group of young adults around the world. He is literally glued to that phone. It's like these virtual friends are his best friends now.
I never imagined we would be on this wild rollercoaster! Although he has always showed signs of anxiety from the time he was a baby, he did well in school, no major behavioral problems other than ADHD related issues. The Narcolepsy issue doesn't help. He doesn't randomly fall asleep but he doesn't get good quality sleep and is therefore tired a lot. He gets a fair of amount of stimulants from his psychiatrist but nothing unusual for a patient with confirmed Narcolepsy.
After an episode this week where he sat in his car all night in the driveway and I found him out there at 6:00am with a pipe in the car and an obvious buzz, we have told him IOP is non-negotiable. His substance abuse counselor and his Pyschiatrist who specializes in addiction medicine and is the medical director for a local IP rehab program don't think he has a true addiction - though he is 'on the addiction spectrum'. His therapist says the same thing. They all believe he is trying to self-medicate for the anxiety. He seems to be able to stop whe he wants.
On the other hand, son is extremely smart and knows all the right things to say. So who knows?
Just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks for being here!
June
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