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Hi @utopia

I am glad you are home now and I hope you are well and that things improve for you and your family

Family sessions would be a great idea - I have had them suggested to me in the past but alas - other people could not see the point and so this is not bound to work well

However I wish the best for you

You have had a rough year this year - I guess it's hard to find time to breathe at times - how hard has that been

Sending virtual hugs

Dec

Hi @utopia - yes that makes sense. Make it into more of a learning session for your son and mother. It is very difficult to make people understand mental illness without having first hand experience so hearing it from a professional with knowledge of your condition could be really beneficial for them about how they can understand and help you.

Hi @utopia - hope you are have had a relaxing start to the week before it gets busy. Were you inspired by @Former-Member decluttering to do some of your own? I think she has become quite the expert.

My dog is growling at every noise she hears tonight. Something is unnerving her. She knows my daughter is out. We saw her a couple of blocks from here having dinner with a friend whilst we went for a walk. I think they went on to see a movie after that. She's at the front door now waiting for her return.

You should see the stack of shoes that are sitting by the staircase here @utopia. I bought a shoe rack that sits in the garage which happens to be right next to the staircase but little miss can't slide the door open and walk those extra few metres. There's just one pair of my joggers sitting there so I'm not entirely innocent.

Not sure what movie she's seeing. We have a cinema just a km or so away from us and the tickets are quite cheap. I have only been to the movies twice in the past year I think. Should do it more often. Do you see movies in a cinema?

Hi @utopia

I just wanted to share something with you. A few years ago after a stint of hospital stays my therapist came out to my parents house one night to talk to my parents and my kids. I wasn't in the room with them, she didn't want me there. Her mission was educating them and helping them understand what is helpful and what isn't. It was generally more successful than not. One of my parents surprised me and asked questions and took a lot in and the other still struggled to understand. Having said that over time the one who struggled has come a long way and keeps my therapist number in case they need her help (I can't remember if they have ever rang her). My sons took different amounts in at the time. They were similar age to yours at the time.

The second time it happened was through the community mental health team over a year later. It was just my kids, me and my case manager and my psychologist. They asked the kids questions and they understood way more than I thought or gave them credit for. It didn't change so much of the dynamics at home at the time but it reassured me that they were ok with everything. It also reinforced that they had listened and learned from my therapist. My kids were given the SANE factsheet on BPD to read and my mum was sent a copy of it too.

My therapist (same as the first one) came to my house this year again to meet the kids and I and go over some issues causing lots of stress in my house. It didn't really work on this ocassion but more so because I wasn't coping with life at all at the time. It didn't make anything worse though, it just didn't really fix the stuff that wasn't working. In hindsight that stuff was too complex to fix in one visit anyway. Since then things have rectified themselves through a change in circumstances.

Im sharing this because hopefully more good than bad will come for you. I also think that you may not see the results of it at first. In my experience I'm glad it happened as scary as it was at the time, every meeting I had. Hoping this helps and that it all goes ok. You have a huge week. Be kind to you. 💜🤗💐