by easyreader1970 16 Replies latest jw friends
Mental illness is not contagious physically although it is a physical illness.
Have you considered checking NAMI and see if they have a support group for spouses and other family members of mentally ill loved ones in your area?
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?section=Find_Support
Blondie
"I just want to believe what they tell me!"
You wrote: Is crazy contagious?
The answer is in this question: Does environment influence a person's physical and mental wellness?
Well the **** has hit the fan. Or is about to.
I made an appointment this morning for our son to see a mental health doctor, this one specializes in adolescent children. I explained the entire situation to them (took about fifteen minutes) and we have an appointment for early next week. The trick now is to make it that far.
His school called. We have a long history of his school calling dating back to his kindergarten days. The problem is that once you get with older kids, teachers and schools don't have time for behavioral problems and they are not going to deal with them.
He acted up pretty badly at school today and then told the school counselors that he didn't want to go home. The reason is because we harass him about his schoolwork. What happens is this. He doesn't do it, and goes for days not doing it. Last night when questioned about where his homework was (for an entire week) he started crying, coughing, and then vomited. He says he is stressed when we ask him about his work.
If you punish him he goes to school and tells the school that what you are doing (which might be taking his games away or somethiing) is borderline abuse. So they call us and ask us what the problem is.
Anyway this creates a large amount of stress. So now, to keep him sane in school for the next few days, we are just supposed to let him slide on stuff to not stress him out to the point that he gets kicked out of school. At least until he can see a doctor.
Our problem is that even if he is high functioning autistic and in all advanced classes, the schools aren't equipped to deal with it. You can't send him to a school for "special education" kids because they are far beneath his level. That won't help him either. Some schools (none near me) have special classes and programs JUST for ASPERGERS children because they do need to be among others like themselves while still being taught the same thing as everyone else their age.
If I hear one more time that this is my fault for not showing him more Bible scriptures or strengthening his bond with Jehovah, I may really go insane. And no, I am not kidding. This is a real problem that has nothing to do with the Watchtower. 99% of the other children in his grade do not have these issues and NONE of them have been raised by JW parents. So that logic is bad. It's faulty. It's wrong.
She called me earlier so that I could have some elders come over and share some scriptures with us and maybe with him.
What?
er
Living with a person who has bipolar is difficult. I know from personal experience. My marriage was on the brink before my husband got stabilized. There are more than one med to choose from that can help with bipolar. As Blondie suggested National Alliance for the Mentally Ill has some wonderful information and resources available.
Will living with people who have serious and difficult to deal with psychological disorders cause someone else to experience mental problems of their own?
Yes you cant soar with the eagles when you are scratching with the turkeys.
Behind every good man is a good woman.
Your going to have mental problems from being dragged down.
Can you deal with it?
Yes, if you choose to.
Will you choose to?
If the situation you are in offers more of a positve nature than what you would have if you removed yourself from the situation.
Life is based on quid quo pro. Something for something.
You are in your relationship because you percieve you are deriving some benefit from it.
Have you taken an inventory of the pros and cons of your situation?
Re: your son, if your son has a disability (Asperger's) that affects his education, and your public school can't provide appropriate educational services to him because of his disability, the school is REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW to pay for your son to go to a school that can give him an appropriate education.
Even if he doesn't need to be in a special ed class, the school can be required to give him an IEP because of his disability and provide him with therapies and accomodations. They can't expel him because of his behavior if his behavior is a result of his disability. This is the law. You need to get a diagnosis ASAP. Has he seen a child neurologist?
Visit www.wrightslaw.org and see if you can find a local special education consultant and/or lawyer. You need to contact them (the consultant/lawyers in your area) and have them direct you. The school knows this is the law and the fact that they haven't offered you this assistance is a good indicator that you'll have to fight them to get what your son needs. At least it will give you something to focus your energies on, taking positive steps to help deal with your son's problems. If he's Asperger's and has had these problems for years, you know they aren't going to go away, so talking to an educational consultant would be a really good move. He's going to need help to transition into adult life and it doesn't sound like he's going to get it in the school he's in.
Best of luck,
StAnn
