jkca1 wrote:
I have a couple of great daughters. My eldest, who just turned 15 was recently diagnosed with dysthymia. If you are like me you've never heard of it.; "Persistent depressive disorder". She has been feeling depressed for 6+ months. We've been taking her to talk to a psychologist, she is on meds but not much seems to work so far.
From the outside you'd think she had a great life. All "A" student. Student body President. Star athlete....good friends. Volunteers to help the homeless. She's the definition of an overachiever, which is funny because it's something I have never been. But to hear her talk she's just never happy. She says it's worse for her on the weekends when she has down time and can "think". My wife and I have talked to her about whether she's putting too much pressure on herself to be "perfect" and assured her that we don't care about anything but her well being. We've given her the option to go to an easier school, just cut back, whatever she wants, but she tells us she wants to stay where she is. And the doctor seems to agree.
And now it gets scary. Today after she met with her doctor we were told we need to remove knives, razor blades, medicines nightly so she can't get them. We're basically on a suicide watch. I am sure some of you have been through something similar either personally or with family/friends. I am not sure what else we can do as a parents except try and keep a close eye on her 24x7 365, tell her often how much we love her and hope that she/we can get through this dark time. The alternative is that she's not going to survive this, and that's just something I can't think about without losing my shit. I am going to sleep on the couch near her room until we get through this because I don't think I'll be able to sleep in my room anyways.
If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.Reading this gave me a strong sense of Déjà vu. About 12 years ago our daughter was in a very similar place. She sounds very much like your daughter in so many ways. The only big difference I see is that our daughter reached her lowest point as a senior in HS. At least one med they tried made it even worse . . . she tried taking a bottle full of sleeping pills and ended up in the ER and then in the adolescent psych ward for about a week. It took several months, but they were able to come up with meds that helped. I believe she was on them for at least a couple more years.
I wish I could remember more details that might help, but I can tell you that not only did she get through it, she has gone on to thrive. She just got married this spring to a wonderful guy, is already expecting a baby and super excited. She has a dream job, lives in her childhood dream area of Southern CA, and just in general has a great life and really happy. So, I believe you will get through this as well though it might not be easy.
It sounds to me like you already are doing all the right things to support her and help her through this. Our daughter often comes right out and says how thankful she is for our unconditional love and support. Hang in there, and keep believing!