The day I found this site was the lowest point of my life, dealing with a very angry 16 year old who had left my home (against my wishes) and moved in with my sister. I reached out to complete strangers on the PE Board and was welcomed with compassion, empathy, advice, and encouragement.
Fast forward the tape five years: difficult child is in his final year of college. He sees a counselor on an as-needed basis (crisis counseling). He has not smoked pot in 9 months, but does drink a lot of beer. Our relationship is solid and stronger than ever! He has a great job and has been employed 2 1/2 years with the same employer. He is slowly rebuilding his relationship with easy child; easy child is the one who is hesitant. difficult child and my husband get along nicely. I have no idea what difficult child's relationship is with my sister and the extended family; I don't care to know.
To all PE long-timers: THANK YOU. I swear I would not be here today without you. I had given up and honestly didn't think I could make it one more day. Your understanding and compassion allowed me to take a deep breath, get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other, and continue the struggle of dealing with the incredible stress and heartbreak of ODD and it's destruction.
To those new to the PE Board: Stay strong. Don't quit. The lowest time of your life that brought you to this board will pass. (Notice I didn't say soon or quickly... it took almost five years for a sense of normalcy to return for me.) It really does get better! Although it doesn't seem possible, you really will adjust, defeat, conquer, move-on, heal, learn, accept, harden, etc. Whatever emotions you need to get you through this very difficult, hellish (can I say that?) time, you will find!
Fast forward the tape five years: difficult child is in his final year of college. He sees a counselor on an as-needed basis (crisis counseling). He has not smoked pot in 9 months, but does drink a lot of beer. Our relationship is solid and stronger than ever! He has a great job and has been employed 2 1/2 years with the same employer. He is slowly rebuilding his relationship with easy child; easy child is the one who is hesitant. difficult child and my husband get along nicely. I have no idea what difficult child's relationship is with my sister and the extended family; I don't care to know.
To all PE long-timers: THANK YOU. I swear I would not be here today without you. I had given up and honestly didn't think I could make it one more day. Your understanding and compassion allowed me to take a deep breath, get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other, and continue the struggle of dealing with the incredible stress and heartbreak of ODD and it's destruction.
To those new to the PE Board: Stay strong. Don't quit. The lowest time of your life that brought you to this board will pass. (Notice I didn't say soon or quickly... it took almost five years for a sense of normalcy to return for me.) It really does get better! Although it doesn't seem possible, you really will adjust, defeat, conquer, move-on, heal, learn, accept, harden, etc. Whatever emotions you need to get you through this very difficult, hellish (can I say that?) time, you will find!