Tye Larabee’s post on ScaryMommy.com about her teenage daughter’s mental illness is a touching look behind the scenes of one apparently happy family’s private struggles. We thought it was worth sharing the excerpt below, and we hope you’ll click the link provided for the full article. And if you’re in Northeast Ohio and recognize yourself or someone you love in her account, we hope you’ll contact us for an appointment.
When she told her therapist she wanted to die and planned on making it happen, I took her to the emergency room and let them put her in inpatient care. When she actually did try to make it happen, I drove her back to the emergency room, again, and let them put her into the same inpatient care, again, in the span of one month. And all the while, I reminded myself to stay calm, to not freak out, to not panic, to breathe.
When she completely stopped eating and came up with a list of rules around food to keep herself from getting “fat,” and the inpatient care team ignored all of it because they had to prioritize “crisis” (suicide attempt) over eating disorder, I raised hell until they listened to what she was trying to tell them: that her eating disorder and self-harm were the crisis. I raised hell until someone listened, and then I raised more hell until I got her a spot at one of the best eating disorder recovery centers in the area.
I didn’t ignore it, or write it off as normal teenage moodiness or attention-seeking behavior. I did everything I could from the moment I recognized a bigger problem. Everything everyone told me I needed to do, and then some, I have done. This system is not an easy one to navigate, and I will always question whether or not I did “the right thing” at every turn, but I damn sure have tried.