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Mon, 01/25/2010 - 11:16
 
Seeking residential care is depressing but that sadness can be turned into a powerful force that is useful in finding funds to pay program costs. Buried under the disappointment of having a child in treatment lurks some real anger at your kid for making you take this drastic step. You're angry for lots of reasons -- the sense of parental failure, the embarrassment of facing friends and family, and not least, the child's behavior that precipitated the need for residential care. One can be defeated by the sadness or galvanized by the anger. I recommend the latter. Anger can be extremely useful in insisting that schools help pay for your child's care, in demanding that your health care carrier cover some portion of the costs, and in motivating you to reassess your finances to find places where you can cut costs to cover these expenses. Also, focusing on finding funds gives you a crucial way of actually doing something to help your child. That is no small feat when you are feeling pretty powerless! What do you think? Do you have any anger at all? Have you channeled your anger into helping your child? What other coping mechanisms have you used? |
I am not angry but my husband has been. I mostly feel like I am living in a surreal nightmare. We thought we were good parents and did everything to have a happy, loving family and look what happened. I feel like I am fighting a monster-depression and his friend, drugs. I would have never in a million years thought my child would take drugs.