I’ll try to be brief. We both have ADHD with different classifications. All family goes to therapy. He takes Methylphenidate since 3 months ago and goes to occupational therapy. Also 1mg melatonin for sleep since he started those meds. He showed issues at school since over a year ago. Been kicked out of one school and one summer camp due to aggressiveness. He’s doing fine in his current school because of the meds, but mornings and evenings are awful. Sometimes I can’t take it and go off the rails with him. This means back and forth yelling at each other, hitting each other, shakedowns. Putting him to sleep is hit or miss. A couple of nights ago we struggled for 3 hours. He loses sleep at 1-2-3am and that’s when I react the worst. He starts by teasing. Pinches me, hits me, licks me, spits at me, knocks things down, blows strawberries, and more. Lately he blocks out what we’re telling him if it doesn’t pertain to what he wants, and if we say no he repeats the thing over and over. We are losing it but especially me. We are supportive and loving all the time but I feel these episodes kill whatever good we instill. What do we do? Today was the worst one yet and we’re worried about hurting him physically and emotionally in a permanent way.
So much for brief… I’ll add if I remember anything else. But we are very frustrated and helpless. Thanks in advance. I’ve already read some of the stories in here and burst into tears.
EDIT (Oct 14): I forgot to mention some more variables that complicate things for us even further!
1. He has asthma and has constantly been displaying symptoms for over a year. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. This impacts his ability to go to and stay asleep a lot due to coughing and stuffy nose. Due being nose-clogged all the time, he got used to mouth breathing and that affects him even more. We can't teach him breathing exercises because deep mouth inhaling hurts. We believe this affects his mood significantly because days with the least stuffiness are the best. Asthma also means physical activity hurts him, which impairs our ability to take most sports-related advice.
2. He has many skin and respiratory allergies so we have to coddle him and prevent him from doing things. Some of those allergies are grass and pollen, so you can imagine. This has also led us to need to forcibly administer liquid medicine, which he hates, so that's a very bad time and we all end up angry and exhausted.
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ADHDLatino
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Welcome we are glad you are here. You talked about your son being on medication and it helping. Have you considered taking medication to help you?Also, speak to your son's doctor about giving him the same medication in the afternoon since it wears off. They call it a booster dose. That will help with the afternoon time.
Could you place activities in the afternoon, like maybe he goes to a class where he can get his energy out? Some type of sport: Tae Kwan Do, soccer, lacrosse, etc.
Sports are very helpful to get out his energy before bed time.
One last thing, can you get him an educational plan in school? This could help with whatever his behavior is at school.
Hope the waking up in the middle of the night goes away.
> Have you considered taking medication to help you?
I definitely have, but I'm currently looking for a new therapist because my last one was giving me the runaround. They helped me get diagnosed but not much else.
> Also, speak to your son's doctor about giving him the same medication in the afternoon since it wears off.
He does have a booster dose and it helps a ton! We mostly run into these issues in the early morning (before 6:30am when we administer, especially the very early times when he's sleepless) and bedtime (after 6pm ish when the booster is wearing off)
>Could you place activities in the afternoon, like maybe he goes to a class where he can get his energy out?
We got that recommendation from his therapist yesterday and started to implement it, but I guess it's too soon to reap any benefits.
>One last thing, can you get him an educational plan in school?
You could wake him up at 6:00 am and give him.his medication then let him sleep, when he waked up the medication will be working. But then you have to give the booster earlier, like right when he gets out of school. Yes! Therapy can help a lot.
Best of luck you sound like you have a plan in place.
He wakes up at 6 every day for school. In other scenarios, if we were to wake him early, there's zero chance he'll go back to sleep. His doses are 6:30am, 10:30am, 2:30pm. Thanks for suggesting anyway 😅
I did add some more context I forgot about before so if you have anything else to comment please do!
One important detail is that certain areas of development are delayed with people who have ADHD.
Typically, is estimated for children with ADHD to be 3 years behind peers for emotional and social development, and other areas of neurological development.
Since your son is 4, it would probably be better to think of his emotional regulation and impulse regulation to be more like a 2 year old. (Like a 4 year old in body and brain, but a 2 year old at the controls.) Not mentally delayed, but the decision making part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex, or PFC) being under-active.
That seems to me to fit the behaviors that you are describing.
ADHD stimulant medication helps to activate the PFC, but at the same time, your son is also learning about the world and how it works. (The fastest period of development for a child's brain starts at birth, and continues through age 5.)
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Lack of restful sleep can be a major contributing factor to your frustration.
Your own sleep issues might be easier to resolve than you son's. If there is another caretaker who can take turns with you (a parent, grandparent, or other responsible adult in the home), so that you can get more restful sleep, it should help you with your own response to your son's behavior.
My younger son has had difficulty falling asleep the last few years. He is now 11, but at least since he was about 6 or 7, his mind usually doesn't settle down and go to sleep until about 10pm. I had to tell him that it was okay if he wasn't tired when he went to bed, he still had to be in bed. I would let him read or play quietly with stuffed animals.
My youngest child is now almost 9, but for her, sleep training didn't take until she was about 4½. (It was because she kept getting sick.) She would wake me up almost every night, and I would have to put her back to bed.
So, I think that sleeping through the night is a learned behavior.
Melatonin helps with falling asleep at the beginning of the night, but may not keep someone asleep.
With young children, teaching the behaviors that you want them to learn takes a lot of patience and persistence.
I wish I had better advice. In my own family, I had to wait it out for months or years for my kids' sleep issues to improve.
The same goes for daytime behavior...try to be patient and persistent. Decide before conflicts arise how you want to be able to respond, and visualize your own preferred responses in your head and heart. By telling yourself, "when my son does (ABC), I am going to do (XYZ)."
• I have done this sort of thing in recent years, and I do think it helps me more often than not with dealing with my kids when they are acting up
We do try to switch it up when this happens at night, but mom sometimes goes off the rails too unfortunately (no ND diagnosis). We are working on it and acknowledge we have some hurdles of our own to get over. Thank you!
I'm the mom who watched a situation like this between my son and husband for years. How old is your son?
I'd get both of you into CBT therapy, it helped way more than OT did. It helps with creating work arounds for your lacking executive function skills as well as developing self awareness. You already know this I'm sure, but you both get a dopamine rush from the conflict. Our son told us at age 4 that arguing with us and making us yell at him actually made him feel better. I'd also talk to his doctor about adding guanfacine. It helps with mornings and evenings and sleep. It's not a stimulant.
I don't know about your son, but even in out worst times when there was spitting, hitting, swearing, and worse; he did know we loved him and that he played a part in the craziness. These kids really are as remorseful and upset about the situation as you are, try not to forget that. Do your best to control yourself, apologize when things are calm, and just keep showing your son that you're trying to get help. That's truly the best you can do. You clearly care or you wouldn't have him on meds or in therapy.
I'd he on Concerta? That was a horrid mediation for us. My son takes 15mg of Focalin and it has been by far the smoothest and most effective version of methylphenidate we have used. Same with many friends sons. Hang in there dad, you're a good dad with a good kid who's having a hard time. It WILL get better bc you're both putting in the work.
Consistency is the main key. Follow the same routine morning and night and enforce consequences LATER in the day for morning behaviors. Don't engage or get emotional at all during his fits or it makes it more "fun" for his frontal lobe.
I'd definitely take meds as well when you get that sorted out. Treating ADHD for one member in a household simply does not work. It's just such a hard thing for you to control in the am and pm like that.
He is 4y9mo. He was born prematurely (35wks) which all his doctors have told us affects his development as well (as in he's playing catch-up in more ways.)
Yeah, he did tell us at some point he "enjoyed" arguing and fighting with us, and his therapist told us to expect that as well. I will find out more about CBT.
Thank you for saying that. It's a very weird but comforting feeling when we're done fighting and we're suddenly back to cuddling and hugging like nothing ever happened.
He's prescribed for Ritalin but we've always gotten generic methylphenidate so I have no idea if something can change in that sense. We can ask, but I think it works fine for him as he does behave well while medicated and as long as we keep him on track.
Let's give this a try. We generally start arguing with him right when he misbehaves, and we do stuff like threaten to take stuff away but it doesn't seem to be working anymore. Maybe timing the consequences with his meds can help. However he WILL go off track while medicated if he's pushed hard enough.
It's not surprising that he said he "enjoys arguing" sometimes. The act of arguing can trigger release of the neurotransmitters associated with both the fight-or-flight response, and the goal-seeking response (i.e. the desire to "win" the argument).• Fight-or-flight response triggers release of epinephrine (aka adrenaline), norepinephrine, and cortisol.
• Dopamine is associated with goal-seeking/goal-directed behavior. Dopamine is also associated with the feel-good response to various behaviors and substances.
• ADHD behaviors are caused by a deficiency in (or deficiency in processing) dopamine &/or norepinephrine. [Stimulants and some non-stimulant medications treat dopamine needs. Certain non-stimulant medications treat norepinephrine needs.]
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Both young children and people with ADHD need immediate feedback. This includes consequences for their own actions.
As a parent, you are motivated by love you your son. Your instinct to give him correction for his misbehaviors, because you ultimately want what's best for him. You want him to be his best self. You want him to grow up to be happy and successful. You want him to be well-received by the world.
In every moment, it's so hard to put all those complex, instinctive thoughts, feelings and desires into words and into perspective... especially when another instinctual side of you is rising up to assert dominance in the situation, while the rational & civil part of you strives to maintain control.
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DO take positive action to correct your son. Do so as close in time to his misdeeds as possible...but DON'T act in the heat of the moment.
• If he is emotionally out of control, then he will be unable to receive correction...he needs some sort of "time out" first, to give him time to get out of the raw emotions of the moment.
• If you are emotionally out of control, so that you cannot be sure that you will respond to him in a controlled way, then you need some sort of "time out". (Like many parents, I've been there! I've had to say to my misbehaving kids, "Dad needs a time out, and when I'm back, we are going to deal with this.")
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Whenever you feel lost for what to do, go back to the core of your relationship with your child...love. Love is such a powerful connection to another person that it can guide us in a moment and across a lifetime.
There have been times when I was completely beside myself, at a loss for what to do. I had to pause and reflect on WHY I feel so intensely about my children, their words, and actions... while I am so much less affected by other people and their kids. That's because they are MY KIDS, and I am THEIR DAD. It's because we have that family bond of love.
So, when my eldest daughter was an out of control child, and later on was an oppositional teenager, I questioned if I had what it takes to be her dad. +++ Now, she's a mostly well adjusted adult, with kids of her own to treasure...and I'd say that she does as good or better of a job parenting them, as I did with her. We now have a great relationship.
(I do wish what I'd gotten her assessed for ADHD, because I'm now 99% convinced that she has the Hyperactive-Impulsive presentation. So, maybe the struggles we had as a family and that she has had as a person could have been eased a bit.)
• I have three other kids, and I'd say that my eldest did the hardest part but breaking me in, and preparing me for them. (So far, none of the younger kids have been anywhere near as difficult as the eldest was at times. The youngest two are only half grown, so I still have some challenges ahead, I'm sure.)
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You're doing the right thing by loving your son and doing the best that you can for him.
Being a parent is the hardest job on earth, but it's also rewarding in ways that are wonderful to experience, but can only be understood by being experienced.
I've spent the last 4 years being very open and honest with my son. These are the symptoms of ADHD, these are the behaviors you're exhibiting, how can I help you overcome this situation by situation. Teamwork makes the dream work. Until my husband started taking medication too though, it was pointless. He's now more calm than I am. It does get better. Our son is almost 10 now and his outbursts are simply little rants where he basically vents for a minute and then moves on. Mornings are still the worst part of our day but today he realized if he wakes himself up, things go much better. He understands ADHD to the point he can immediately recognize it in someone else. That self awareness is the most important part. Them realizing what behaviors are their ADHD vs them making a choice is what made all the difference. He has the skills from therapy to overcome the ADHD behaviors and things really are so much better.
May I ask what happened before your husband took meds? Was it the same as I described?
I will absolutely talk to him specifically about it because so far we haven't let him on what's going on. We've just said that those pills help him calm down. Thanks again!
Literally exactly as you described, same age as well. My husband would argue back and forth back and forth with him at age 2!! It just created a child who could argue better thqn any defense attorney lol. Age 4 was THE WORST for us all. I cried daily, multiple times a day, the fits were hours long most days of the week. I had our second child and that made it so much worse. It truly does get better, but sadly I think you're a few years out. I do think if we'd stopped arguing sooner it would have helped. If he's trying to start an argument with you, simply state what you told him to do again and walk away. As little emotion you can emote as possible is really what's best. It sucks but they feed off the reactions of others. My husband and his sisters, mom, cousin, and uncle have ADHD too and they constantly pick little fights with each other, always have to be right, etc. Now that he's medicated my husband's eyes are open and he was astonished at their behavior.
I'd sit down with your wife and set up a short list of 5 things you want to change. Start with the first one. Say you want him to not throw a fit in the mornings getting ready. Make a chart of the exact steps he needs to do, go over it with him, hand hold him through it every single morning til he gets it, and set a specific consequence that he'll get if he does throw a fit as well as a reward if he doesn't.
Say, he does it without throwing a fit he can earn 30 minutes TV before school. The reward has to be instantaneously after the expected behavior is done or it won't work as a reward for his brain.
If you decide he can't watch TV that day bc he threw a fit, warn him once calmly as can be....remember if you throw a fit this morning you won't watch TV later and WALK AWAY. Then later on when he's calm and his meds have been on board you let him know his consequence and review what he should have done. They don't seem to learn anything off meds, on meds it still takes multiple times and tons of kind hand holding but it does eventually sink in. Making things a game or a race helps too. Yesterday you got ready in 60 minutes, I'm going to set a timer and let's see if you can do it in 50!!!! Make things interesting for him.
Remember to give one direction at a time. A lot of my 4 year Olds tantrums were bc we would say go get dressed and brush your teeth and come back down. He was throwing a fit bc he didn't know what to do first and by the time he did one thing he forgot the other things and knew he'd be in trouble. Basically treat steps like he's 2 and do lots of hovering and handholding and he will eventually get it. They're about 2/3 years behind socially and emotionally anyways and then add in a premie baby it just tags on more. You are doing the right thing putting him on meds now. We waited til ours was 7 and regret it. He has informed us he will put his kids on meds at 4, bc that's when he remembers being at his worst and how totally miserable he was.
My husband majorly struggled with following through too. He'd tell him he had a consequence but forget it 30 minutes later....bc ADD and our son knew he would so it became a whole thing. He would also purposely piss his dad off bc he knew he'd have to go outside to calm down and then he'd never come back and actually make him do the task he was arguing about so arguing became a way he got out of doing things he didn't want to.
The task avoidance part of ADHD as an adult unfortunately extends to following through with discipline and consistency as well.
Task cards like these work wonders if you have time to print some out. Instead of saying get dressed...a task card with him putting on underwear, pants, shirt, and socks will help. Ordering tasks in his head is probably part of what's setting him off.
ADHDLatino , I remember a podcaster who has ADHD and whose kids have ADHD what works for them to get ready for school in the morning.
He set a routine up for them (e.g.: FIRST brush your teeth, NEXT get dressed for school, THEN put on your shoes, and FINALLY go get your backpack by the front door.)
What he did to simplify this, to prevent his kids from getting distracted while going from room to room (and to prevent himself from getting irritated with their getting distracted)... he combined the first three steps into a single location.
• He had his kids brush their teeth AND get dressed AND put on their shoes in the bathroom. No confusion about what to do. No distraction.
(Honestly, many years ago, I did a similar thing. I combined a few of my morning activities into a bathroom routine, and a few other activities into a kitchen routine. My morning kitchen routine helped me out when I started taking ADHD medication...I habit-stacked it with taking vitamins, which I do while I eat breakfast.)
That's the idea. Keep it simple. Minimize distractions.
My mornings would probably go smoothly if I can only do one thing: get out of bed earlier. I have a hard time getting up and moving in the morning. I can be wide awake early, but don't have any motivation to get moving until panic sets in.
So, not unlike a certain 4 year old boy who says he likes arguing... there's something in my brain that seems to crave the rush of adrenaline and cortisol. I've never been one to argue, but it seems like time and I are locked in daily combat.
Did you have any genetic testing done to see about medication compatibility? Heres the short version of our situation; Daughter would rage at us outside of school along with having some problems at school. Short fuse+poor impulse control. She was on various stimulants over a period and at one point we upped the dose which made things even worse. Ends up the genesight test said stimulants were a no go with her which a dr reminded us, and as it turns out taking her off them has helped immensely. We switched to guanafcine at the recommendation of her doctor and things have been remarkably better.
Another thing to consider would be parent coaching as things may need some realignment on your end.
We can definitely look into this. A few people have mentioned the type of medication could be a factor but we didn't consider it before since he behaves pretty well while on them.
Yes, we are undergoing coaching as well since at this point most of the adjustments needed are on our end!
I can feel your stress. Like a previous poster, I was also going to inquire about genetic testing. As a health coach and naturally curious person, I'm always looking for the "why." As in "why are my son's mood regulating hormones not functioning right?" And it sounds like your son has other medical issues going on. I'm reading a very interesting book called Dirty Genes by Ben Lynch. I see many of the symptoms in my son linked to these misbehaving genes. It takes a very root cause approach, looking at diet, lifestyle etc, along with supporting supplementation, if necessary. If you're looking for a way to support his health overall and hopefully address his challenges, might be an interesting read and give you some other things to add to your toolbox. Good luck!
One other thing to consider - we noticed on the weekends and days off, there was a 3 hour window where things went from calm to ballistic. We would give her a pill at 8 and things would be fine until around 10-12 then our entire day would get derailed. Bed strangely has never been an isssue.
Methylphenidate is biphasic meaning it has two different release times if you're taking the extended release. So there's a release about 30 minutes after they take their medication and then again 3/4 hours later depending on much fatty foods they've had that day. They can often feel that second release and that's why they get grumpy. Make sure they're eating and drinking about 30 minutes before that time and it majorly helps.
My son and I share your dynamic. I noticed other responses covered some things I might have said, but didn't see advice on sleep: we saw an ENT. I have sleep apnea and it's clear that lack of sleep is one of my biggest triggers for dysregulation (no meds have ever helped me). My son had his adenoids removed earlier this year and it helped him sleep through the night. He still has a hard time falling asleep every night due to active brain, but at least he is getting more rest. He's most argumentative or oppositional when he is hungry, tired, or when there are time constraints and things are moving too fast. We try to give him time for transitions, priming him as much as we can for a change.
And when things get tricky we try to talk about what is happening and do our best to avoid emotions taking over. Emotions still get the best of of us sometimes, but so much less and for much less duration.
We talk about ADHD and it's challenges very openly, and try to frame things in a way that gives us agency and makes us responsible for our own actions, but also makes ADHD the problem and not either of us as people (in other words, we are working on making sure he understands he is not bad, and it's not his fault he has ADHD). I have come a long way over 2-3 years. The more I understand what's ADHD versus me or can note that I haven't been sleeping enough, etc, the more I can take steps and model behavior for my son.
Therapy is clinically shown not to be much help to kids. Parent-behavioral training is clinically demonstrated to help. We have done some of this, and I can see that it will be vital as he gets older, since he has so much trouble staying on task and remembering things. It is an added challenge also having ADHD, but it makes a world of difference having improved as much as I have through practice and repetition.
Also helps that my wife has come to see the difference between us and the ADHD, so she is less judgmental and reactive about the behavior when she sees it, which means less spiraling out of control due to her getting angry, too. My son and I had a fairly strained relationship through much of his second and third year--and the 4th year has had plenty of challenges, too, as he learns more and seeks further independence (while also still avoiding taking personal responsibility for some things)--and while things are not like they were when he was a baby and I was the favored parent, we are much closer now and I feel like our relationship is in a much better, more relaxed and attached place now.
With determination, persistence, and practice, I think the two of you can get there, too.
Hi there.I didn't finish reading other replies; sorry if I repeat. A few things came to mind, though.
-our son was prescribed guanfacine (a non-stimulant) to help with emotional regulation. You could ask about adding that in with the methylphenidate. I've also heard of some kids where stimulants actually make them more dysregulated, so you could also try it instead of the methylphenidate.
-the most difficult thing, and yet one of the most effective things, that we can do in response is to stay calm. For me, that requires (a) going to bed earlier so that I'm better slept; (b) reminding myself that he's acting this way because of his disability and needs be help, not because of my failure to provide good parenting; and (c) the ability to switch out with my partner when one of us is getting too edgy.
-have you had him evaluated by OT for sensory needs? Our son needs a lot more physical input than most, and if we don't give him a good way to get it, then he gets it in a poor way instead.
-transitions are incredibly difficult for the ADHD brain, since their brain is going a different direction than yours. I find morning and evening routines go the most smoothly on the days we are able to give them the most time. Adding time pressures makes our son freeze up or melt down, and feeling late makes me have much more trouble staying calm and patient.
Positive feedback for ANYTHING he does right. Look up developmental expectations/milestones for a 2-3 year old child and DO NOT expect anything more from him than those behavioral expectations. Consider Quillivant XR or Jornay as medication options. He also may need a sleep study or at least a pediatrician appointment specifically looking at his sleep. Does he have eczema with itching at night that could also be interfering with his sleep? Does he snore loudly, gasp when breathing while asleep, move around a lot or fall out of bed while sleeping? Poor sleep will exacerbate everything here. See if anyone near you offers parent training for ADHD. He is probably getting something reinforcing that he likes out of the back and forth arguing you as parents are doing. You as parents need to lower your expectations hugely and not assume that you can use logic, reasoning, arguing, or any delayed rewards to influence his behavior. I’ve been there and it won’t work. Sending you big hugs as a mom of 2 kids—both have autism & ADHD & our son (initially thought to only have ADHD) started medicine at 4 y 9 m. I would have a very low threshold for a comprehensive child psychologist evaluation to see if autism needs to be considered. Given his mild prematurity, and his early diagnosis of and need for treatment of ADHD, he is at higher risk for autism. (I’m a pediatrician). Sending you big hugs and I don’t mean to sound too direct! I just saw my family suffer for years before we figured out everything with our son.
I'm probably reiterating what others have said, but I think it is worth saying again...do not underestimate the need for SLEEP! This is true for everyone, but especially young kids. One of the side effects of ADHD medications is sleep issues. It sounds like your son was having sleep issues prior to starting medication, so they are probably exasperating the issue. (When my son started taking meds he stayed up ALL night!) Talk to your doctor about options to help with his sleep. We used melatonin with my son for years, but even on high doses, it didn't really help. The doctor prescribed Clonidine which worked wonders. We also saw great improvement in emotional regulation when he started taking Guanfacine.
You might want to consider keeping a daily journal to track behaviors, medication, food, and sleep. Do emotional meltdowns happen at a particular time every day? Do you see an improvement if he gets 10 hours of sleep instead of 8 hours? Do you see an improvement if he has a snack an hour before a family outing? Do meltdowns consistently happen at 6:30 PM when his last dose of Ritalin is wearing off? My son gets irritable around 3PM because his meds are starting to wear off. I try to plan low-key activities that give him some "alone time", so there is less chance of something triggering an outburst.
Exercise is also very important. I know you said your son is limited in what activities he can participate in due to allergies/asthma, but you need to find something to help him burn off the energy. His doctor should be able to recommend some things that are safe.
Hi, lots of good suggestions above so going directly to what might not have been mentioned (sorry if I missed it)
1. Looks like your son is taking by the quick release form of methylphenidate (3 times/day); LR form might help for more stability;
2. In the first few months my 8y old son took methylphenidate our life was miserable; he had tantrums (never had them before); would have many emotional breakdowns, saying he would leave the house, and many fights. For the first time he got suspended. This was all new. He was not like that before methylphenidate. We were able to solve this problem by adding specific supplements based on the results of a clinical trial. He is still on methylphenidate but all those side effects have disappeared. I will be glad to share more if you want to know more. I have also shared in other posts.
Wishing you find a solution that works for your family
Your son's symptoms sound like he may be struggling with systemic inflammation. Food sensitivities/allergies can not only cause asthma and skin irritation but can also cause or exacerbate ADHD symptoms.
Full disclosure - I'm a holistic nutritionist and we chose to take a non-medication approach with my son (10 yo). He was diagnosed with severe combined type ADHD and borderline ODD at age 9 although there were signs of a problem years before. By the time he was diagnosed, he was constantly irritable and often aggressive and/or explosive. With the proper supplements, he's now mostly happy and cooperative. He is still somewhat impulsive and distracted, which we're working on, and he (and I) went to a lot of therapy before he improved emotionally.
Another one of the keys to figuring out what supplements my son needed was the genetic testing that others have recommended. The results showed that my son has a (fairly common) gene mutation in the MTHFR gene, which makes it more difficult to methylate folate into its active form (5-MTHF). Folate is not only critical for neurotransmitter production (so deficiency not only can cause behavioral issues) but it's also involved in allergies and detoxification in the body.
Thanks so much for sharing your story and sorry to hear you're dealing with all of this. I know you feel frustrated and helpless however there is hope. Do you know what your triggers are?
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