In most ways, I'm just as an ordinary guy, who had been living the American Dream (whatever was left of it anyway). I married my college sweetheart twenty five years ago, own a home, and have three great, smart kids. I have a job that I love, and I spend time volunteering in the community. It seems a like a perfect fairy tale. Except that fairy tales are fiction. Real life doesn't play out that way.
I'll remember December 30th, 2017 as one of the most frightening days of my life. I had to take my oldest daughter to the Emergency Room because she intentionally ingested a few dozen prescription pills and acetaminophen in what could easily have been a lethal cocktail. The pills included Propranolol, Fluoxetine (AKA, Prozac), and Trazodone. All of these pills had been prescribed for my daughter for depression, anxiety, and insomnia. It was the Propranolol that was the scary part. Originally designed to lower high blood pressure, taken in large doses, it could lower one's blood pressure too far, resulting in serious harm, and even death.
We dodged a bullet medically. But now the hard part starts. How do we pick up the pieces of a suicide attempt? More, how do we address the root causes for my daughter's attempt? It would be easy to say that it was a function of depression, but that's only a small part of this story. At the heart of my daughter's illness is Borderline Personality Disorder. Unlike depression and other mood disorders that can be treated with medication, BPD has no pharmacological solution. Instead, the recommended treatment is DBT, or, Dialectical Behavior Therapy. In a nutshell, DBT focuses on building cognitive (rational) skills to deal with unhealthy (and unsafe) emotional reactions. In the long run, it's shown to be quite effective, and many people can live happy, productive lives with BPD, provided that they continue practicing the skills they learn in therapy.
So that's where we are. Starting from a new normal. What we thought as a normal family life was dramatically interrupted - altered to encompass a new set of ground rules and safety precautions in our home. It means more therapy, both individual and family. This blog is really my attempt to document our journey as a family through the process. I don't know how things will turn, and I know that with every step forward, there is a risk that we will see regression and diversions from our intended path. Yet I remain optimistic. Part of that is my natural outlook, another part is because I am determined to make sure my daughter (and my family) have the tools needed to work through this. In coming posts, I'll explain a little more of how we got here for context, but will spend most of my time journaling in the moment.
My hope is that the insights and experiences I share here may eventually help other families cope, and eventually thrive, when someone is diagnosed with BPD, or demonstrates BPD traits. Let's see where this takes us.
I'll remember December 30th, 2017 as one of the most frightening days of my life. I had to take my oldest daughter to the Emergency Room because she intentionally ingested a few dozen prescription pills and acetaminophen in what could easily have been a lethal cocktail. The pills included Propranolol, Fluoxetine (AKA, Prozac), and Trazodone. All of these pills had been prescribed for my daughter for depression, anxiety, and insomnia. It was the Propranolol that was the scary part. Originally designed to lower high blood pressure, taken in large doses, it could lower one's blood pressure too far, resulting in serious harm, and even death.
We dodged a bullet medically. But now the hard part starts. How do we pick up the pieces of a suicide attempt? More, how do we address the root causes for my daughter's attempt? It would be easy to say that it was a function of depression, but that's only a small part of this story. At the heart of my daughter's illness is Borderline Personality Disorder. Unlike depression and other mood disorders that can be treated with medication, BPD has no pharmacological solution. Instead, the recommended treatment is DBT, or, Dialectical Behavior Therapy. In a nutshell, DBT focuses on building cognitive (rational) skills to deal with unhealthy (and unsafe) emotional reactions. In the long run, it's shown to be quite effective, and many people can live happy, productive lives with BPD, provided that they continue practicing the skills they learn in therapy.
So that's where we are. Starting from a new normal. What we thought as a normal family life was dramatically interrupted - altered to encompass a new set of ground rules and safety precautions in our home. It means more therapy, both individual and family. This blog is really my attempt to document our journey as a family through the process. I don't know how things will turn, and I know that with every step forward, there is a risk that we will see regression and diversions from our intended path. Yet I remain optimistic. Part of that is my natural outlook, another part is because I am determined to make sure my daughter (and my family) have the tools needed to work through this. In coming posts, I'll explain a little more of how we got here for context, but will spend most of my time journaling in the moment.
My hope is that the insights and experiences I share here may eventually help other families cope, and eventually thrive, when someone is diagnosed with BPD, or demonstrates BPD traits. Let's see where this takes us.
Comments
Post a Comment