Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"I'm the Only Normal One, I Guess"

This is what Jane, my twelve year old said to me the other day, noting that she is the only child in our home not taking any medications. Well, normal is relative, and truthfully, I often think she needs to take something for her OCD problem, maybe an anti-depressant or the like. I am holding out because she is certainly functional, just really annoying when she cleans up everything while you are still trying to use it, or continually asks if the kitchen is still clean, or dumps out your coffee when you were still drinking it, or when she melts down, crying and stomping around, when you place something foreign on her perfectly made-up bed. Yes, she is just a little obsessive. We talked to the psychologist about it yesterday, about her need for control because life has felt so out of control for so long. She sees it but doesn't really know how to stop freaking out over everything when things don't go her way. Teaching her to be flexible and to be okay with imperfection is going to take some time. She will be very unhappy in life if she doesn't learn that life doesn't go the way you plan it most of the time. God has a way of interrupting our plans with His.

2 comments:

  1. OK so you breathe funny when Mae comes around and Jane cleans. Can she come clean my house??? Just kidding. I think if I were Jane, I'd HAVE to react to all the disorder to by controlling what I could - even if it had to be doing housework! Any chance she might be able to relax a bit and let go after a while? It might take a while for her to trust that her sister(s) aren't going to go berzerk...

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  2. Since she has been wound up tight for ten years, it will probably take more than just "relaxing a bit" to undo the damage. More like a few years of therapy!

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