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Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

Deedee61New Contributor01 Nov 2022, 1:57 pm AEDT

Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

I am the mother of 3 adult children and 3 years ago became the foster carer, then Permanent Guardian of another daughter, who is now nearly 15.

She has many mental health issues in addition to her diabetes and she is presently in hospital after furtively withholding her medicine over a long period of time and becoming very sick. It is the 2nd time she has done this and nearly died this time. She has also attempted suicide by other means.

Today, I was told that the chances are that this will happen again in the future. I am really at a loss as to how to help her. I am exhausted and can't keep doing this without support such as respite. The mental health system for teenagers is so inadequate. Any ideas?

3 replies

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In response to: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

FloatingFeatherSenior Contributor01 Nov 2022, 2:36 pm AEDT

Re: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

Hi @Deedee61,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us - I know it isn't always easy to share, particularly in the beginning. Please know that you are in a safe and anonymous space with many caring members with a variety of lived experiences.

I am really sorry to read what you and your family are going through. It sounds incredibly difficult and worrying for you all.

From my lived experience the mental health system can be challenging to navigate. Does your daughter have a professional support team in place? Do you have a trusted GP you can reach out to and talk to about this?

I'm also concerned about the wellbeing of you and your other family members because being a carer can be a lonely and isolating experience. There is an organisation called Carers Australia that I would encourage you to call if you have not heard about them - they might be able to help point you better around the direction you could take for your daughter and yourself. This is a link to their website Carers Australia.

I will also tag a few of our lovely community guides at the end of this post to see if they have some ideas around how to help.

On an aside, if you want to directly chat with someone on the Forums use the @ symbol and then start typing their name directly after it. A dropdown box should appear, and you then select their name. This ensures that they are notified of any posts you mention them in.

I sincerely wish you, your daughter and the rest of your family all the best.

Warm regards,

FloatingFeather

@Faith-and-Hope @wellwellwellnez @NatureLover

In response to: Re: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

hanamiSenior Contributor01 Nov 2022, 4:29 pm AEDT

Re: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

Hi @Deedee61

What a tough situation you and your family are going through. I so hope you can get the support you need soon. I'll just add a couple of more resources to the ones that @FloatingFeather provided. There is Reach Out which is specifically for younger people with mental health issues as well as having a section for their parents to get support https://au.reachout.com/ And for carers specifically there is also Carers Gateway https://www.carergateway.gov.au/

Hope you find help from some of these.

Warmest wishes

Hanami

In response to: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

Unknown userMember01 Nov 2022, 5:36 pm AEDT

Re: Dealing with my daughter's complex trauma, attachment disorder and diabetes as a Permanent Guardian

Hey @Deedee61,

I am also one of the peer support workers here at Sane . Welcome to the forums, I hope can find some support for yourself and some ideas for your daughter on here.

Being a carer for someone with complex needs can be very taxing - emotionally, mentally and physically. Furthermore, uncertainty around the future can be very consuming and create additional stress. I am also a mother and carer for someone with complex needs. It is very hard ❤️‍🩹

Does your family have an NDIS plan? I do know that respite is a tricky thing to get in the plans. Do you have an NDIS coordinator? Sometimes it is a matter of wording it in a plan review so you can get some care hours. Parents and carers definitely need respite for the health and safety of the entire family.

Thinking of you.

how are you keep us updated with how you are travelling.

Sunshineandsea x

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