falcongrrl | (no subject)

Daniel's having one of his turns again. Wild rages, wild laughter, wild behavior. This is after a week of being mean to his sister and generally pessimistic about everything.

I'm not disabling comments - I don't mind them - but this is more for tracking than anything else. I really need to keep better records about these mood swings. I'm thinking we need to at least see the pediatrician and possibly a child psychiatrist. Given my own mental health issues as well as my family history, it's not unreasonable to think that he could be depressive or bipolar...although I thought that onset in children is rare. Still, this seems an emotional reaction beyond normal for his age group. I thought we were doing better, I really did.

He freaked out completely - tears, screaming, a full blown tantrum that would put any two-year-old to shame...over having to turn off the TV to pick up Dave (we're down to one car - long story). So he's (and we're) officially TV-free (and movie-free) for the weekend; we'll see if that helps.

I'm so tired.

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Just for what it's worth, looking back, I think I was bi-polar practically from birth. By the time I was 5 or 6, and starting to be self-aware, I can remember mood swings, etc.

Were you able to hold it together for school, just out of curiosity? That's one of the things that's made me reluctant to take him to a psychiatrist...his main trouble at school is focusing, but he doesn't seem to display the wild moods there.

I don't know, I was never schooled.

Actually, the above said... I learned very quickly to hide any moods that weren't "appropriate," because they would be taken for sass, or whatever, and I'd get, at the very least, slapped for it. So mostly I saved it for when I was alone.

I actually learned very quickly when and where to hide it.

Hi. I've just noticed that you friended me, and that we have

beautyofgrey as a mutual friend.

Have you checked out the book The Bipolar Child? It's by Demitri Papolos, MD, and Janice Papolos. You can probably get it through the library. It's an excellent reference.

I didn't technically have early onset -- my first major episode didn't come until I was twenty -- but I can look back at my childhood at various incidents and say, yep, there were definitely signs. I was easily able to cope, but it's clear from a distance that I wasn't functioning entirely on the average.

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's bipolar or something like ADD...but it doesn't feel typical.

I liked your comments to

beautyofgrey and enjoyed reading several of your entries, so I friended you a few days ago. I hope that's okay! I'm not entirely sure of friending etiquette.

*grin* It gives my ego a boost when someone friends me!

*sigh* Someday I will learn to look to see if I'm logged in before commenting!

Oh, and thanks for the recommendation. That's a good idea, to read up on it more.