Hello Susan.
When I was a child I used to get real scared at night...as a matter of fact I still do when my husband fills in for the night shift. It probably is just anxiety, and maybe some extra security precautions around the house will help your daughter feel better. We had a security system installed which doesn't cost much - only thirty dollars a month and if you have a dog let it sleep in your daughters room with her. These things help me a great deal.
I think yes all the recent child abduction news has something to do with it. Maybe also her father moving back to the state adn threatening off and on to see her after 8 yrs with no contact. Although she says no to the dad thing. She does share a room upstairs with her older sister who is a teen terror so i also wonder if somethign is up there, but her sister seems actually concerned for once. Maybe taking on so much in helping me with Megan, she just wants to be close to me also. I have no clue. I agree there is probably no medical cause, but I also agree if i cant get her over this by school year start she will need to talk to someone. But for now looks like hubby and i have a new room mate on the floor on an airmatress..Susan,
I have an 11 year old NT daughter too. And a 12 year old NT son. I agree that this is very possibly something that has occured because of something she has seen or heard. Also children can have anxiety disorders without being mentally ill and fully recover from them. I do agree however that if the behavior continues for a prolonged period and you can't seem to get to the bottom of it then it might be a good idea to take her to a psychologist or counseler. Not because she may be ill but she could have anxiety that you as a parent can't seem to help. I will not use my son as an example because he does have anxiety and see's a psychologist. But my 11 year old daughter is about as NT as you can get and if she watches something on tv that is disturbing to her or hears stories at school and she gets afraid sometimes it takes forever to get it out of her what is going on. There have been times where I have finally gotten to the bottom of situations with her and have asked, "why didn't you just tell me?" And her reply has been " because it just seemed silly to be afraid...but I still was" Also both of my NT children have went through phases where they have had nightmares of me dieing and they would come to bed with me and use different excuses to why they were comming in there. I guess not wanting to admit to me that they had a dream about me dying. Anyway...I would first try and get to the bottom of things and find out what is making her afraid. Tammy is right...there is so much going on in the news right now with child abductions and such and I do know that My kids are aware of what has gone on even though they don't watch the news or anything. They hear about it from school. Both of my children have even questioned me recently about the case in Idaho and wanted some sort of re-assurance that it wouldn't happen to them. Anyway...hope this helps...take care,
Karrie
It really could be anything. And not necessarily a sign or symptom of mental illness. Has she watched some news lately on all the child sex offenders? Have her friends talked about it alot? Maybe she watched a movie that had a scarey part in it. What else has changed in her life recently? I would not jump to the conclusion that it could be anything related to bipolar. Does mental illness run in the family? Or maybe it is just some form of anxiety disorder. Maybe you could have the two kids either share a room or switch rooms, if possible. Or you can get locks for the windows on the inside where the window only opens like an eighth of a inch when it is raised. They can diagnose bipolar in kids but if she is not have mania type episodes they would probably be real hesitant to diagnose it.Hey Susan,
how's it going? i'm sorry to hear that your daughter is still having trouble. I know we've talked before about this but in my humble opinion, i don't think she's mentally ill, i think probably saw something on the news or maybe a movie( perhaps one you wouldn't have wanted her to see and she might be afraid to say she saw it ) with everything that's been going on in our twisted world right now, it's impossible to sheild her from everything, ecspecially where she's sooo sweet, she might have read something in the paper and she's at that age where her thinking is, if it could happen to them, it could happen to me..... I'm all for bring her to maybe the dr or another professional, maybe even a minister of your church and allowing her to speak freely about her fears, she might be able to put them to rest. when i was around her age iwatched a tv movie about ted bundy, i was horrified to say the least, it was late, my parents were out and my older siblings were watching it so i got to stay up late ... man that was a bid mistake... I know that you have a lot on you plate, but i would talk to her let her know that it's ok, you want to help her. I'm sure things will turn out to be fine, but if you need anything, I'm here. Take care.- Eileen
Hi Susan,
I'm a Mom of a 24 y/o schizophrenic paranoid bi polar Daughter.Those are just a FEW of her diagnosis, PLEASE take it from ME, get her to her doctor...psychiatrist...she needs HELP. Sharon (my Daughter) started acting scared & paranoid in her early childhood, I took her to her pediatrician, well he said it was "normal childhood things"....WRONG!!!!
When she was 18 y/o she'd given birth to her first child, THAT'S when everything atrted happening....I didn't want to face that my Daughter was mentally ill, even though it DOES run in BOTH sides of my Parents' Families. I finally (after several bouts of BAD occurances) had to face the fact that she needed help.
We've been through alot, it's been 5 almost 6 yrs since she was dx with all the things they've labeled her as, & it's been H*LL to live with her.
Maybe your Daughter ISN'T mentally ill (I PRAY TO GOD THAT SHE'S NOT), but you need to make sure you've done all that you can for her safety.
Just friendly advice.
Good Luck
God Bless you all & keep you all safe!
Linda... aka Tony'sMom....aka MWN64
Ok I need advice or opinions on my non spectrum 11 yr old. About 2 weeks ago she went upstairs to go to bed and came down five min later saying she couldnt sleep. Being mom I said well you just have to go up there and sleep it was 10 pm. I felt bad and then went and asked her what was wrong found her crying. She said she thought someone woudl come and take her. She spent that night up in her room and i didnt think about it again but now, she is sleeping in my room every night and still feels unsafe and doesnt want to go up to her room. I dont really mind her in the airmatress in my room, I woudl rather that then have her scared. I am hoping in time she will decide to go back upstairs. I have offered to move her bed downstairs in Megans room, so far she says she doesnt know. last night she even checked the doors to make sure they are locked.. I feel bad for her. If this keeps up I guess we may need to talk to someone.my husband still sleeps with lots of light on, yeah I think bobby is a lot like him, he is different, but love him, whatever it is, find the reason and fix it, son will not sleep downstairs cause he thinks, spiders will get in, keeps windows closed cause bugs might come in his room and then complains when we turn off air, tonight found he had opened window, it is cool out and bugs are not as noticable. normal daughter when 8 or 9 was terrified of basement, found they had watched IT on tv. she still hates clowns at 19. something is bothering your daughter and if you cant find cause then get her evaluated for mental health. some times cause may not make sense to us but it does to her, but if it is just upstairs, can you turn a room downstairs into her bedroom.I can't watch CSI without hubby here, lol, when he goes on trips and I watch, I am awake half the night and listening for every sound.... and there is a new one tonight <<sigh>>
It might help (tho not get her out your room) but let her do nightly checks with you. Go round together and check all the windows and doors.
IT might also help to know where dad is.... even if she says it isn't this is usually an areas kids have difficulty with expressing... Is there a court order you can show her to make her feel better that dad can't take her.
Also you could try getting her a stuffed animal with an alarm in it... for her bedside table. If there is any trouble, she has the security of being able to grab the bear and wake everyone up. It's fairly easy to make.
Or get her a whistle for her keychain during the day... or you can get small devices for keychains that make a horrible noise.
Poor kid, I hope you find out what is making her feel this way *and* pls watch it... if she gets too scared, it might start to change how she looks at everything. It could be totally normal phase but could also lead to depression.
(((HUGS)))
Pan
I think it could have been something her older sister said. If she's a teen, just about anything could have come out of her mouth. I would find out if she heard her say anything maybe about the news or maybe she was on the phone with friends.
My NT daughter had night terrors up until about 2-1/2. You would think she was being beaten at night she would screem and cry so loud. She did not sleep in her own room until she was 6. We had her in our bed, than graduated to floor next to our bed and finally moved her toddler bed in our room for awhile. She finally out grew it. I would just keep in eye on her and if she starts becoming more paranoid about other things get her evaluated right away.
I know with bipolar, you can have some mild episodes for years and then one day it can become severe. My niece, who is a twin, had a scary episode in her third year of college. They got her to a dr. immediatlely, got her on the right meds and was back to school within 2 weeks. She graduated with a 3.8 avg., on time, and had a job lined up as soon as she was done! I know it doesn't happen like that for everyone, but they recognized her bizarre behavior because her aunt had it. Looking back, my sister noticed little bouts of the manic side, but didn't think much about it - teen girls are so up and down with their moods anyway. Catching it early is the key.
I feel for Tony's mom! Having adult children with all she is dx with is very difficult.
Take care and hope you figure it all out soon!
Ginger
Ginger