self harm, restricting or bulimia
My heart is sore. Though I know my daughter is trying to control her purging symptoms... I realize she is now back to restricting her food intake and that she has begun to cut herself again and appears to have burned herself. The process seems to be reversing itself. I've asked her about what I've seen. She said she's working on it with her therapist. I feel horrible that she is doing this in my home and I feel powerless to help her. For a while she had been drinking and I told her that I do not have alcohol in the house for her to get drunk on. I feel that I can not ignore the any of self injurious behaviour ... so I told her that I do not like any of these behaviours and the fact that they are going on in my house and that while she is living here I feel responsibility for her well being. I told her I know that she's working on it but that I really don't like what she is doing... I am considering asking her to leave her bedroom door open at all times but then where do I go from there.... do I never leave her alone? She told me that if she wants to do these things she will find a way and do them anyway... and there is nothing I can do. I just don't know what to do ... do I set limits or do I need to try and let go and let her work on things with her therapist. Any ideas? She's planning to go back to school (out of province) and this would happen in about 6 weeks... how can I say goodbye to her and let her go off knowing she's not doing well? Do I speak about school and my current concerns about her leaving or is that putting too much pressure on her? It seems strange and counter to my intuition to even be thinking of sending her off knowing that she's not stable.
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Hello Rosie, I'm so sorry
Hello Rosie,
I'm so sorry you've been having such a rough time lately. It sounds like a real struggle to live with your daughter and watch her hurt herself in this way. But you are right to think that you can set limits - it sounds like you've already started doing this, by telling her that you don't like these behaviours, and don't want them going on in your house.
It is so hard to let go, especially when you are so worried about your child. But because she is an adult, she does need to learn to work through these issues, as she is doing with her therapist. One strategy that works well is to keep an "open door" policy with your daughter - letting her know that you are always there to talk, and that you will withhold judgement. This is not easy, I know, and will probably take some practice.
Can you pinpoint any reason why things have been getting worse lately? Do you think she is nervous about leaving home and starting school in another province? Perhaps you can have a discussion with her, and instead of talking about her behaviour, instead talk about the reasons why she might be doing these things. Focus on the feelings and the situations that are behind her self injury.
You are doing a wonderful job Mom, and I hope to hear back from you to hear how things are going.
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