I belong to a forum for parents of teens with mental illness and it seems like hardly a week goes by that one of the mothers is in the E.R. with their teenage child. Sometimes it’s suicidal intentions and cutting, other times it’s hallucinations and delusions or sometimes an angry outburst that leads to police involvement and ultimately a trip to the hospital.
If you think for a minute that your child needs to go to the hospital, act on it! Waiting can often times mean the difference between life and death or jail, expulsion or self inflicted wounds. We are quick to try to talk ourselves out of the need to do something so “dramatic”. But talk to the parents who wish they had heeded their instincts and gotten to the hospital sooner. No one knows your child better than you do and the most important thing in working with kids with mental illness is that you trust your gut!
