Overwhelmed

[Fig tree]

I have a son who has displayed symptoms of mood instability since early adolescence he is now 34. Early on he became addicted to alcohol and cocaine. As a result he has brain damage from years of substance abuse and an overdose. Since the overdose he has stopped using most substances- just pot- he says it helps him to stay calm. He and his girlfriend had a baby 18 mo ago and this seems to have pushed him over the edge. He has become increasingly angry and hostile. As a result he sees very little of his daughter- we and his girlfriend do not tolerate Any of this behavior around his daughter. I know this is upsetting him more. Past weekend had to call local crisis team because he kept saying how much he wanted to die. They evaluated him and said he was fine. Not sure we can take much more. Want so much to find him some where else to live. Waiting lists everywhe

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[Mutt]

Hi Fig tree,



I'd like to welcome you to  bpdfamily. I'm sorry to hear that. I can see how emotionally distressing that would feel when we have a loved one that suffers from mental illness with the highs and lows.

They evaluated him and said he was fine.

Mood instability or emotional dysregulation is when someone cannot regulate their emotions or self sooth and may subconsciously turn to substance or others to self sooth when we really should manage our own emotions, skills like DBT / CBT is like a recipe book for emotions. Often the behaviors are directed at the people that are closest to them because loved ones are tempered to the behaviors.

Does he live with his girlfriend? What do you do for yourself for self care? What is your support network like in real life with family and friends? Are you seeing a T?

What does it mean to take care of yourself?